Los Angeles mini-breakfast chain And Waffles (stylized as & Waffles) will be opening a Long Beach location at the former Pier 76 space in Downtown Long Beach at 95 Pine Ave.
So what, exactly, is the story behind And Waffles and how will it relate to Long Beach’s obsession with breakfast?
Long Beach has long had an obsession with breakfast: The Potholder, hitting some five decades of service, is the city’s eldest breakfast joint while some would argue Egg Heaven (though considering recent controversies that don’t align with Long Beach love, I would argue otherwise). The Breakfast Bar recently celebrated a decade of service that defined bringing a more modern take on breakfast into the scene, leading the way for bistro-like spaces such as Wide Eyes Open Palms. Then there’s Let’s Yolk About It and San Diego-based Breakfast Republic on each bookend of Belmont Shore. There’s stellar breakfast popups. There’s OC breakfast burrito transplants…
The love Long Beach has for its breakfast is real.
And now there’s And Waffles (joining fellow chain Eggbred in opening in DTLB) Founded by Edward Damadyan and operated alongside his two sons, Raffi and Serge, And Waffles concept is simple: Order your breakfast or lunch and, well, add some waffles.
With two locations in existence—one in North Hollywood, the other in Woodland Hills—the massive menu has an entire section dedicated to proteins and waffles: Cajun fried chicken and waffles, Texas-style fried chicken and waffles, a waffle cheeseburger, waffles benedict, waffle sandwiches… This one top of classic breakfast (think corned beef hash, steak’n’eggs, country fried steak…), breakfast burritos (from pastrami and steak to chorizo and Polish sausage), omelettes….
And that is just the breakfast portion at And Waffles.
Their lunch offers classic greasy diner sandwiches (think turkey club, BLTA, pastrami, tuna melt…), a play on a variety of burgers (from Wester Bacon Cheeseburgers a la Carl’s to classics like patty melts), and salads.
Remembering Pier 76, a fish-centric space that redefined sustainability and quality
When Pier 76 shuttered in 2022, it was a big loss for the food community: After what he called his “test location” inside the Cooper Arms building, Krajacic had built a mighty name for himself in the seafood world: After ditching the famed Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach to start Pier 76, it wasn’t until he officially moved onto Pine Avenue where his power and extension began.
He opened two more additional locations—one in Cerritos and one in Riverside—amid a boom in popularity as an affordable, healthy, and most of all, delicious place for seafood. Seafood—mind you—that Krajacic caught mostly himself.
To speak personally, the best part about Krajacic’s style was his perpetual dedication to the cleanliness in his approach to food. Eschewing complicated preparation, his plates were simultaneously simple and complex—and it shone best in plates like his array of fresh fish (again: mostly caught himself) and moule frites.
Pier’s tin bucket of moule frites filled with a hefty heap of freshly steamed California black mussels atop a pile of fries is Krajacic’s take on the seafood classic. I first experienced it at Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach, which just happened to be under the direction of Krajacic when I had it.
But Pier 76’s version? It will now forever haunt my stomach’s cravings: a white wine broth—beautifully balanced to the point where one could easily use it as a soup—in which the fries happily bathe, mixed with onions, roasted poblano peppers and chunks of bacon.
But perhaps most of what we will all miss was the most important part of Krajacic’s food, noted as an ingredient they listed on their menu: “Pure love.”
And Waffles will be located at 95 Pine Ave. in Downtown Long Beach. It is expected to open this summer.
We love your immersion in the community. Fanfare for the Common Diner has an all inclusive embrasure that any city would die for. Tying the back of the house to the C level ‘sweeties’ and their self inflation/infatuation makes every communique worth the read.