As we push toward celebrating Long Beach Food Scene: Last Call—a 10-day, multi-event celebration of our city’s rich bar culture and the people who make it happen—we will offer a series of features that highlight everything from our most stellar cocktail programs at restaurants to to the very events occurring (like this feature on Wood & Salt Tavern in Bixby Knolls)… All in order to lift a glass to a social and economic driver that rarely receives the love its deserves: our bar industry. For more information on Long Beach Last Call, tap here.
Outside of Lola’s—whose original location on 4th Street truly defines the Bixby Knolls location—Wood & Salt Tavern is the epicenter of cocktail culture in Bixby Knolls. In a neighborhood bereft of proper bars—even EJ Malloy’s is attached to a restaurant—Wood & Salt and its beverage director, Gabriel Ducharme, lead Bixby Knolls into what sophisticated, elevated drink programs look like.
Wood & Salt’s dedication to quality food extends to its cocktail program.
Owner Björn Risse has long held onto one ideal: Wood & Salt is, first and foremost, for the neighborhood in which it is invested, Bixby Knolls. Like his rightfully lauded traditional German space, Rasselbock, the Bixby Knolls community has a sense of ownership of the space. This is precisely why, just over a year ago, Björn returned to the space away from the esoteric and back to the approachable-but-elevated, a characteristic that defines Wood & Salt.
“For me, it’s always important to have elevated food but as approachable as possible,” he told me. “I don’t want Wood & Salt to be the space where people visit once a year for a special occasion. I want it to be the spot where you come in on a Tuesday night because you don’t feel like cooking.”
In that sense, Gabriel—the man who has often touted himself as “a People’s Bartender more than a Mixologist’s Bartender”—is perfect for slowly pushing Bixby’s boundaries but also assuring that, first and foremost, they stay in business. Approachable, elegant, and classy, his cocktails reflect the neighborhood as much as his style.
“I’ve come to understand that our patrons tend to lean toward the familiar but with a different take on those familiar things,” Gabriel said. “We’ve had some on our list that have truly become staples—the pineapple-basil lemon drop definitely isn’t going anywhere… We’re trying just slowly to keep pushing the boundaries, though.”
This hasn’t stopped the space from diving into the less-than-traditional—including spirit dinners.
In that very sense, neither Gabriel nor Björn has tried to avoid the recherché regarding food and drinks outright. They’ve been hosting spirit dinners, like their upcoming Derrumbes Mezcal dinner, which will entirely eschew their Californian menu for a prix fixe, Mexican cuisine-centric four-course dinner. Or their previous gin dinner showcased Amass, Barr Hill & Gray Whale gins.
“My favorite cocktail currently on the menu is The Breakwater—it’s complex and fully rounded, but it’s not selling as well,” Gabriel said, referring to his herb-infused tequila cocktail that fuses citruses with the slightest hint of licorice. “But we’ll get it there; I’m confident in that. It’s that delicate balance of wanting to do things as a creative, making cocktails, and also listening to your patronage.”
The cocktails being featured for Last Call at Wood & Salt
Looking forward to spring, Gabriel has created two dangerously poundable cocktails: Planet Hopping is a carrot-centric concoction that uses gin and falernum as its base with the brightnesses of passionfruit and pineapple to slice through. And the Tavern Sangria? Certainly one of the best sangrias you’ll have, where the flavor feels much less boxed wine-y and far more booze-forward.
Planet Hopping: Gin | Falernum | Carrot | Passionfruit | Pineapple | Lemon | Aquafaba | Cinnamon
Tavern Sangria: Pineapple- and basil-infused vodka | Orange curaçao | Licor 43 | Lemon | Lime | Angostura bitters | Cabernet Sauvignon | Cola
Wait–you mention Long Beach Last Call 2025. What is it?
Long Beach Food Scene: Last Call—or Long Beach Last Call 2025 if you wanna keep it simple—returns March 1 and run through March 10 with a series of events on each day that celebrates the city’s rich bar culture, community, and its workers. From industry-only and unlimited tastings events to cocktail contests and proper Irish coffee lessons, Long Beach Last Call will continue to be the premiere event celebrating Long Beach’s bar and cocktail culture.
After the success of my restaurant in 2023, Long Beach Food Scene Week, bar owners and tenders rightfully asked: “What about a week for us?” So I decided to oblige and present Long Beach Last Call last year, a ten-day long celebration of Long Beach’s amazing bar culture, it’s even more amazing workers, and the industry that often goes without recognition as one of our city’s largest economic and social drivers. And thousands of people proudly showed up. With the alcohol industry going through a roller-coaster of layoffs and rearrangements—from brands leaving distribution companies to brand representation shrinking nationwide—now is the time more than ever to support these incredible people.
Hence, Long Beach Last Call 2025. And Wood & Salt Tavern is a part of that—so go order a drink.
Wood & Salt Tavern is located in Bixby Knolls at 4262 Atlantic Ave.
