One of L.A.'s best bakeries is opening a pizzeria in Highland Park
After growing his homespun bakery into one of L.A.’s most prolific bread operations — and then launching a wildly popular sandwich-focused Glassell Park restaurant — Andy Kadin is ready for what’s next.
The Bub and Grandma’s baker and founder is opening a pizzeria in Highland Park, taking over the former home of long-running pizzeria Town. After all, he said, bread, pizza and sandwiches go hand in hand, and it’s been a lifelong passion.
“Pizza has always been extremely important to me,” said Kadin.
Expected to open in 2025, Bub and Grandma’s Pizza will serve 18-inch whole pies and slices made in a sort of New York style with New Haven sensibilities. That means a crust with leoparding and a structured bottom so as to allow a foldable slice, most likely topped with low-moisture mozzarella, tomatoes, olive oil and simple, classic toppings.
Read more: Welcome to L.A.'s golden era of pizza: Try 21 of the best slices at these pizzerias
It’s all inspired by his upbringing in New Jersey and decades-long favorite pizzerias such as Arturo’s, Grimaldi’s, Zuppardi’s. Additional dishes like meatballs, salads and mortadella-related items could also make an appearance.
It’s a full-circle moment for Kadin, who used to bake his bread out of Town’s ovens 10 years ago.
He had quickly outpaced his home kitchen trying to keep up with demand for early wholesale clients that included Dune, Wax Paper, Cookbook and Dinette, and his friends who owned Town offered their kitchen while they closed during lunch service.
“I would mix the dough at my house, carry it down the 100 steps to the street, put it in my truck, drive to Town and bake it there,” he said. “I did that for three or four months. It’s totally wacky, but also kind of how these things have gone for Bub’s.”
Kadin is also taking over Town’s takeout-only Cypress Park outpost, which will serve as a commissary kitchen for Bub and Grandma’s catering operations.
But Kadin says he hopes to keep his business footprint small. “My goal is not to be some behemoth,” he said. “The goal is to only get as large as we can do it where we're still creating the same product and having the same relationship with the people who come and eat with us."
But before Bub and Grandma’s can open its new restaurant, Kadin will be making some changes. Town previously operated split into two spaces: a New York-style walk-in for takeout, with whole pizzas and slices displayed in glass cases, and a dining room next door. The Highland Park restaurant faced spacial limitations during its decade-long run, relying on a double-deck pizza oven that couldn’t keep up with demand.
Kadin plans to eliminate the walk-in format and reimagine it entirely as a kitchen, with additional ovens and prep room. He’ll operate a walk-up window instead, which will be the first phase of his pizzeria.
A few months later he expects to debut the other side of the restaurant with a casual order-at-the-counter format, plus offer beer and wine, as well as reprise Town’s fan-favorite photo booth.
Earlier in the year Town’s owners reached out to Kadin about taking over the space, and after some reflection — despite weathering a difficult year for restaurants and expanding his offerings to survive — one of the city’s most prolific bread purveyors decided to make the leap.
After all, he’d served “pizza-adjacent” flatbreads in his stall at farmers markets years ago, and at his Glassell Park restaurant, pizza is often on the menu for the staff’s private family meal. But what Kadin will serve at Bub and Grandma’s Pizza will be markedly different.
Read more: Is this a Jordan Kahn comeback? Inside the return of Vespertine and Meteora's rise
Bub and Grandma’s Pizza will be a new face in a rapidly evolving stretch of York Boulevard, which in the last two months saw openings of new restaurants Belle’s and Ggiata.
“[Town has] been a part of my life, too,” Kadin said. “I’m sad to see it go, but I'm really glad to be able to uphold the great things that Town set up — including the photo booth, which I know is very important.”
Town pizzeria closed on Sunday, but days later passersby still approach the building before noticing the “CLOSED” sign affixed to the front door. On Aug. 30, Town announced its closure in an Instagram post thanking the community for its support.
“We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve [Highland Park] and the surrounding communities for the last 10 years!” the statement read. “It’s been a wild ride and we’ve been thankful to call York Blvd our home through it all. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. We will miss all of our customers dearly and sincerely thank you for all of your support over the years.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
