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Long Beach Food Scene Intel is a series from Brian Addison that will recap food news throughout the city, both news that needs just a quick mention, is developing, or repeated news where you might have missed the full features.
Lucky Chopsticks shutters Long Beach location; patrons encouraged to visit Cypress space
Lucky Chopsticks—the absurdly affordable fast-casual Chinese space in West Long Beach—is closing its Long Beach location. As owner Hang Bui puts it, the family needs to “focus on our Cypress location due to unforeseen circumstances. This was a difficult decision for us, but one we had to make at this time.”
Lucky Chopsticks in Cypress is located at 4953 Lincoln Ave.
Sorry Not Sorry Creamery signage goes up in Belmont Shore
Sorry Not Sorry Creamery—the ice cream brand famous for using dairy from a century-old farm—had their signage go up in Belmont Shore. They will be taking over the former Sweetfin space in Belmont Shore. After closing back in May, the space has been toured by far more local brands. (With Foodologie being one of them but unfortunately was rejected.) Ultimately, the sought-after space went to this quickly expanding ice cream chain.
Anna’s Pizza Joint signage also goes up in Belmont Shore
Speaking of signs, another one went up in the Shore for Anna’s Pizza Joint.
From the owners of Anna’s Joint in DTLB, this space will be directly next to the city’s oldest pizzeria, Domenico’s, while also being one of the few spaces in the city that offers by-the-slice service. As for the Shore/Naples area, Valentino’s and, when they serve it on Fridays and Saturdays, Colossus, are the sole spaces offering pizza by the slice.
Hamburgers Nice will no longer be serving mornings at Good Time
Hamburgers Nice served its last AM service at Good Time on Jan. 8 and will be offering its last PM service at the Zaferia coffee house on Jan. 9. From there on out, the hamburger popup will only appear at Good Time once a week, on Thursdays, from 4PM to 8PM.
Chef Luis Navarro to offer dishes that won him the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe chefs competition
Chef Luis Navarro will offer two dishes that he served in the Long Beach Grand Prix Fixe chefs competition—two dishes that eventually got him to win the gold.
One is his shrimp toast sitting in a bath of Cantonese curry, a stand-out from his finale show-off against Chef Maxwell Pfeiffer of Sky Room. This will be served at The Social List next weekend.
Then his gambas al ajillo—prawns sitting in a shrimp broth—will be served at both locations of Lola’s come next weekend.
Terrible Burger to joing DTLA’s famed Smorgasburg
Terrible Burger, the terribly awesome Long Beach burger popup, has scored a coveted space in DTLA’s every-Sunday foodfest that is Smorgaburg. Joining other Long Beach brands like Battambong BBQ and Shlap Muan, owners Ryan and Nicole Ramirez will be joining the 2026 grand opening of the food market come Jan. 11.
ICYMI: Viaje is one of Long Beach’s best (and its most underrated) Mexican restaurant
It is wild how much Viaje has evolved across its three-year existence in Belmont Shore. And it is not in concept but in consistency. Qualify of craft—in both food and cocktails, the latter of which are unquestionably the best in the Shore. In service. In hospitality. It is a Long Beach gem that marks it as one of our finest Mexican establishments.
For the full article, click here.
ICYMI: Closures. Menu cuts. Nixed hours: Casual Long Beach restaurants feel the grip of a rich person’s economy
This one was hard to write—there are some brutal quotes in here—but I certainly hope you take the time to read it, Long Beach. 2026 is going to be a very rough year for our casual restaurants, both affordable and mid-range. Expect more closures. Expect more cuts—in hours, in staff, on menus.
And it reflects a very fascinating trend: People have become so distrustful with what they spend their money on, they would rather get fast food or throw an entire paycheck toward a very, very expensive meal. And for mid-range restaurants, that means mediocrity is not an option and they must connect with patrons to garner their trust with their dollar.
We got this, Long Beach—but we need to patronize as much as we can.
Click here for the full article.
ICYMI: Sal’s Gumbo Shack to shutter Bixby Knolls space, keep North Long Beach shop open
It mirrors the beginning of what many expect will be a very dark 2026. And it is a sad reflection of Black-owned restaurant spaces dwindling even further into the shadows. Sally Bevans, the owner of the beloved Sal’s Gumbo Shack, has decided to close her Bixby Knolls location. Her flagship North Long Beach shop, however, will remain open.
“Well, 2026 is here and we gave it a good run,” Sally said. “Unfortunately, due to the high cost of food, low participation from the community, and a lack of a good management team, we are forced not to renew our lease. However, Sal’s Gumbo Shack will continue to service our customers at our North Long Beach location.”
