Meet The Women Leading Long Beach’s Eclectic Foodie Scene
In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting some of the women making waves in the Long Beach food scene at a few of the most up-and-coming and innovative eateries in Southern California.
Long Beach is truly a culinary melting pot that is second to none when it comes to Southern California food destinations, and several impressive women-owned restaurants are leading the way in driving the dining scene forward.
What's unique about Long Beach’s culinary scene when looking at Southern California foodie cities is the striking lack of pretense in the restaurants that call Long Beach, ‘home’. The entrepreneurial spirit of the chefs and tastemakers of Long Beach’s culinary scene have thrived in a community that celebrates diversity and supports their local businesses, paving the way for tastemakers to get creative, and debut innovative cuisines, delicious comfort food and create tastes and flavors that can only be found in this waterfront city.
Women have indisputably played a major role in making Long Beach’s culinary community into what it is today – from taking the lead as business owners and bakers to becoming the mastermind chefs behind some of Long Beach’s most up-and coming restaurants. This Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting some of the women who are making waves in putting Long Beach at the forefront of California’s impressive culinary successes. Meet the chefs and culinary entrepreneurs setting a place at the table for women in Long Beach’s culinary scene:
Dima Habibeh, Ammatoli
With the aim of bringing the diverse and vibrant flavors of the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Cypress and Palestine) to Long Beach, chef Dima Habibeh and her husband Husam or “Sam”, created Ammatoli, one of Long Beach’s newest spots for authentic, home-cooked Middle Eastern cuisine. As the chef and culinary mastermind behind Ammatoli, Dima, a proud Syrian-Jordanian woman, and her recipes aim to challenge conventional thinking behind Middle-Eastern dishes – introducing customers to flavorful dishes that beyond the traditional idea of hummus, kebabs and gyros. For foodies without fear of bold flavors, savory spices and unconventional twists on comfort food – some of Dima’s beloved specialties include musakhan chicken roles, and samkeh harra (a spicy grilled fish plate).
Kristin Colazas Rodriguez, Colossus Bread
What started as a simple farmer’s market stall serving delectable chocolate chip cookies as well as coffee has grown into two brick-and-mortar locations. Colossus Bread (4716 Second St), founded by Kristin Colazas Rodriguez in 2018, churns out artisanal bread, masterfully crafted croissants, various patisserie as well as pizza in both Long Beach and San Pedro locations. While locals helped fuel this success, Colossus’ loaves earned national recognition in 2022 when Food & Wine magazine named it Best Bread in California. At the Long Beach shop on Second Street in Belmont Shore, you can stop in for brunch, pick up your bread for the week, and take home a bottle of natural wine.
Laurie Gray, The Pie Bar
From an amateur baker to a successful Pie entrepreneur, Laurie Gray got her start making pies in her mother’s kitchen in Spanaway, Washington, where she learned the art of rolling the perfect pie crust, turning fresh fruits into fillings, and knowing just how long to bake a pie into the coveted golden-brown. As a single mother who started her journey selling pies from her house, then at farmer’s markets, then at her own brick and mortar store in Downtown Long Beach, Laurie’s “Pie Bar” is one of the city’s most adored and frequented eateries. Crafted from Laurie’s own recipes, Pie Bar specializes in sweet and savory pies, always made from scratch with high quality, regional ingredients made in small batches at a time. According to Laurie, some of Pie Bar’s most popular flavors are Key Lime, Mississippi Mud, Smores, Banana Cream and Chicken Pot Pie.
According to Laurie her inspiration to start Pie Bar comes from the simple belief that, “pie is one of the simple pleasures in life and not many people have the skills or the time to make pie from scratch. Pie brings such comfort and reminds people of home and family memories.”
As both a Southern California foodie paradise and a hub for passionate chefs and tastemakers turned entrepreneurs, Long Beach is proud to have a number of inspiring women leading its ever-growing food scene.
To learn more about the delicious eats in Long Beach, click here.
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