Long before A&J Seafood Shack… Long before Frank’n’Fries… The little shack at the northeast corner of Obispo and Anaheim was Sliced & Diced. It was a beloved torta and sandwich shop that captured the hearts of many during its two-year tenure.
For years, owners and spouses Amy Erikson and Griselda Suárez have heard the same question from people who remember their little purple sandwich shop: When can we eat your sandwiches again?
On Tuesday, Sept. 22—as part of the citywide fundraiser for nonprofits that is Long Beach Gives—they’ll have an answer.
Sliced & Diced returns for one day only at both Lola’s locations
Sliced & Diced, which closed more than a decade ago, is returning for one night through a collaboration with Lola’s Mexican Cuisine in Bixby Knolls. The pop-up will raise money for Angels Gate Cultural Center, where Erikson now serves as executive director.
“I think we miss our restaurant every now and then too,” Amy said. “Us and Luis and Brenda [of Lola’s] have talked about bringing the sandwiches back over the years… And Long Beach Gives—the city’s biggest fundraiser for nonprofits—provided the perfect reason to finally make it happen.”
Amy hopes the event can raise $7,500 for Angels Gate and its arts programming across the South Bay, including in Long Beach Unified schools.
What is being offered for Sliced & Diced’s one-day special?
The two sandwiches on offer were among Sliced & Diced’s favorites. Make your donation outside Lola’s, then take your ticket into the restaurant to receive your sandwich.
A $50 donation gets guests a ticket for the jalapeño popper grilled cheese, a special that became a permanent menu staple due to its popularity. Layers of roasted jalapeños, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese are stuffed between slices of parmesan-crusted bread. Adults and kids alike rightfully love this sandwich.
A $75 donation gets you the El Dorado Torta. Layered with Peruvian beans, cheese, shredded cabbage, and pico de gallo, it’s then topped with spinach, mushrooms, and pasilla peppers. Guests can add chicken or carne asada to the torta. Looking for heat? The space’s famed Walnut Chile sauce can be added to make it spicy or you can add Lola’s much-loved green salsa.
“It’s a real, true collaboration,” Amy said. “And to say I wasn’t slightly gleeful in watching the Lola’s team cook our food would be an outright lie,” she said, laughing.
Looking back at Sliced & Diced…
When I visited Sliced & Diced for its first anniversary in 2014, Amy and Griselda were making sandwiches in a tiny storefront with a wall of growing kale, lettuce, and herbs outside. The shop grew out of the sauces and moles they had been selling at farmers’ markets, and its menu reflected their determination to give their neighborhood something fresh and distinctly their own.
Amy began working at Angels Gate while she and Griselda were still running the restaurant. She has been with the San Pedro nonprofit for about 16 years, including 11 as executive director. Now in its 45th year, Angels Gate houses 50 artist studios, a 3,000-square-foot gallery and four classrooms that host more than 25 classes each week. Its work also reaches beyond campus through exhibitions, events, and school arts residencies, including 12-week programs in Long Beach Unified schools.
For Amy, the pop-up brings together the community that remembers Sliced & Diced and the work that has occupied her since it closed. For everyone who has spent the intervening years asking after those sandwiches, Tuesday is a chance to taste two of them again—and support the arts at the same time.
Sliced & Diced’s one-day pop-up will take place at both Lola’s locations: 2030 E. 4th Street on Retro Row and at 4140 Atlantic Ave. in Bixby Knolls.
