For SALA Coffee & Wine owners and partners Brandee Raygoza and Derrick Montiel, it’s not hard to miss the very shiny silver lining of a car crashing through their northern wall on the night of Monday, Jan. 19. And that is the fact that their much-loved coffee and wine space, which has begun serving dinner on select nights, happened to be closed.
Even more, it was just two days later that Chef Melissa Ortiz—one of the defining chefs of the contemporary Long Beach food scene. She was definitive in bar food, having developed both Bamboo Club’s initially ambitious menu and Stache Bar (or what actually became Sideburns’) menu—each of which had, in some vein, a simultaneous celebratory-slash-anti-bar air about them. And with her latest menu, she was once again trying to push the idea that a space defined by simple things—wine and coffee, in this case—deserved greater recognition.
“Those were literally the tables you and I were sitting at,” Chef Melissa told me, showing me a video of the car coming through the space’s northern wall, where she and I shared the upcoming pop-up menu she had planned on serving with Chef Jose Molina in the coming weeks at the Bixby Knolls space. Just a few feet from us? A table of ten-plus people who were sharing wine and memories.
It took no long period for Chef Melissa to recognize one thing while she visits Long Beach before traveling abroad once more. And that is that her planned service at SALA really wasn’t about showing off or making money. No. It was to help Brandee and Derrick attract more attention to their dinner concept, Cuevita.
How the Long Beach food community came together for a special weekend.
So Chef Melissa will be at Hartland’s—the incredibly underrated brunch space at 1900 Ocean Blvd.—on Saturday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan 25. Each day, 4PM to 5PM will be wine hour while 5PM to 10PM will be food service. All the proceeds are going directly to SALA to pay for the staff’s wages while closed, continue to pay the vendors (also small businesses), and to continue to keep the business afloat. For those unable to attend the food, a GoFundMe has been set up.
Chef Melissa was very quick in her thought process: We still need to celebrate SALA. And with word put out, responses came in: Partake offered to host and toured Chef Melissa. Other spaces offered their help. But it was Chef Rob White, the man behind Liv’s and Hartland’s, who offered his best-ocean-view-in-Long-Beach space for free that really clutched the ordeal.
With produce being donated by Chef Jason Witzl of Ellie’s… Lights to help create a vibe, courtesy of Chef Luis Navarro of Lola’s and The Social List… And hopefully, you, the Long Beach patron, will come out and support.
Each will be offered a la carte.
What to expect from the pop-up menu at Hartland’s for SALA?
Definitely some music on vinyl. Some vibes—for sure. Plenty of wine. And food, of course. While folks will miss some parts of Chef Melissa’s menu set for the now-defunct space, a huge portion of the menu has been saved while some parts have included things that have made SALA a space to remember (including their rightfully magnificent chilaquiles burrito).
Even more, all the staff—baristas, servers, cooks—will be brought on to help with front-of-house duties. A DJ spinning vinyl to match the SALA vibes? Claro. Chef Melissa in the kitchen? Yup. Yours truly to greet you? Obviously. And then, the food:
- Focaccia with labneh, Kakhetian oil, and olives
- SALA’s famed chilaquiles burrito
- SALA’s Fundido burger
- Pan con tomate with sardines on sourdough and Thai chilies
- Wedge salad with Calabrian yuzu buttermilk, crispy shallots, cucumbers, tomato, and egg
- Pasta with shrimp head sauce with tuna tartare
- Ribeye and frites with French onion Jus
- Chocolate salami
Each offered until they are sold out each day.
The many hoops SALA will have until reopening…
The reason so many are coming together? What happened to SALA is not just disheartening; it can be outright devastating for their business. Mimicking the sad situation that faced Lord Windsor in 2021, when a drunk driver crashed into their building, Brandee and Derrick have already been through this situation prior.
Their original Whittier location, now closed, had a car crash through its facade. Their landlord insisted upon waiting for insurance money to come in instead of repairing immediately. The result? Months upon months of lost business. They can’t afford to do the same thing again.
Given the massive hole in the wall? That means a contractor submitting a new plan with a new permit sanctioning the work from the city. Which means a code, fire, and health inspector. Reopening. The pending invoices that sit while they are inoperational. And, of course, rent is due whether they are open or not. And that means a lot of money.
Hence: the dinner offerings at Hartland’s.
Chef Melissa Ortiz’s pop-up will be hosted at Hartland’s, located inside the 1900 Ocean Blvd. residential tower, on Saturday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan 25. 4PM to 5PM on each day will be wine hour while 5PM to 10PM will offer food. Enter through the lobby and take the stairs to the right to the next level or the elevator to the second floor.
