The new Ggiata is planned for 710 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas, where the company recently submitted documents to the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality for a space previously occupied by Charlie’s Electric Bikes. No opening date has been announced, but the location would mark Ggiata’s first move into San Diego County and one of the brand’s first major expansions outside the Los Angeles market.
Ggiata was founded by childhood friends Noah Holton-Raphael, Max Bahramipour and Jack Biebel, who grew up together in Montclair, New Jersey, where neighborhood delis were a central part of everyday life. After moving to Los Angeles in 2018, the trio found themselves searching for the kind of East Coast sandwich shops they had grown up with and eventually decided to create one themselves.
The concept began during the pandemic in particularly unconventional fashion. The founders initially planned to launch from a food truck in 2020, but pivoted after COVID-19 upended those plans, instead beginning as a delivery-only operation from a CloudKitchen in Koreatown. Ggiata eventually opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in 2021 and has since grown into one of Los Angeles’ more recognizable fast-casual sandwich concepts.
Earlier this year, Nation’s Restaurant News named Ggiata among its 2026 Hot Concepts and described the company as one of the brands helping drive Los Angeles’ current sandwich boom. The company had grown to seven locations at that point, and its founders said an eighth restaurant expected later in 2026 would be the company’s first outside Los Angeles, though they declined at the time to reveal where it would be. It now appears San Diego County is getting that distinction.
Ggiata’s restaurants are designed as modern interpretations of the neighborhood Italian delis the founders remember from New Jersey, but with a distinctly Southern California approach to ingredients, branding and restaurant design. The name itself is derived from “La Passeggiata,” an Italian term referring to the tradition of taking an evening stroll through town while socializing with neighbors.
The menu is centered around substantial hot and cold sandwiches, many built around crispy chicken cutlets, Italian meats, cheeses and sauces. Among the brand’s best-known offerings is the Spicy P, made with chicken cutlet, spicy vodka sauce, mozzarella and pesto on a seeded baguette.
Ggiata’s restaurants are designed as modern interpretations of the neighborhood Italian delis the founders remember from New Jersey, but with a distinctly Southern California approach to ingredients, branding and restaurant design. The name itself is derived from “La Passeggiata,” an Italian term referring to the tradition of taking an evening stroll through town while socializing with neighbors.
The menu is centered around substantial hot and cold sandwiches, many built around crispy chicken cutlets, Italian meats, cheeses and sauces. Among the brand’s best-known offerings is the Spicy P, made with chicken cutlet, spicy vodka sauce, mozzarella and pesto on a seeded baguette.
Another signature is the Draper, which combines chicken cutlet, Prosciutto di Parma, stracciatella, shredded lettuce, balsamic glaze and garlic aioli on a grilled seeded baguette. Other options have included Chicken Parm, Eggplant Parm, Meatball Parm, a Classic Italian, cheesesteaks and the Prosciutto Panini with Genoa salami, stracciatella, basil, arugula, honey, Calabrian chiles, tomato and pesto aioli.
One of Ggiata’s biggest breakout items has actually moved beyond the traditional deli sandwich format. Its Crispy Chicken Caesar Wrap, made with fried chicken cutlet and Caesar salad wrapped inside a locally produced tortilla, has developed something of a cult following and helped the brand capitalize on the recent resurgence of chicken Caesar wraps.
One of Ggiata’s biggest breakout items has actually moved beyond the traditional deli sandwich format. Its Crispy Chicken Caesar Wrap, made with fried chicken cutlet and Caesar salad wrapped inside a locally produced tortilla, has developed something of a cult following and helped the brand capitalize on the recent resurgence of chicken Caesar wraps.
Ggiata also offers salads, breakfast sandwiches, meatballs, arancini and desserts, including its colorful layered rainbow cookies and limoncello olive oil cake. The restaurants have increasingly expanded beyond takeout-focused sandwich counters, with newer locations offering more seating and a stronger neighborhood gathering-place feel.
That community element is particularly important to the founders. In interviews, the trio has repeatedly described the neighborhood delis of their childhood as much more than places to grab lunch. They were spots where customers knew employees, local milestones were celebrated and friends gathered after school, sports practices and nights out. Ggiata was created in an attempt to recreate some of that familiarity in Southern California.
The company has also taken a deliberately measured approach to expansion. Rather than rapidly franchising or pursuing aggressive national growth, Ggiata’s founders have said they intend to open only about one or two restaurants annually and keep all locations company owned so they can maintain control over everything from food and service to branding and interior design.
That community element is particularly important to the founders. In interviews, the trio has repeatedly described the neighborhood delis of their childhood as much more than places to grab lunch. They were spots where customers knew employees, local milestones were celebrated and friends gathered after school, sports practices and nights out. Ggiata was created in an attempt to recreate some of that familiarity in Southern California.
The company has also taken a deliberately measured approach to expansion. Rather than rapidly franchising or pursuing aggressive national growth, Ggiata’s founders have said they intend to open only about one or two restaurants annually and keep all locations company owned so they can maintain control over everything from food and service to branding and interior design.
That strategy has resulted in locations across several prominent Los Angeles neighborhoods, including Melrose Hill, West Hollywood, Venice, Highland Park, Studio City and Echo Park. Each restaurant incorporates its own design elements while maintaining Ggiata’s retro New Jersey-meets-Los Angeles personality, complete with hand-painted menu boards, nostalgic details and plenty of references to The Sopranos.
The Encinitas location could prove to be a particularly natural fit for that neighborhood-focused model, bringing Ggiata to one of North County San Diego’s busiest restaurant corridors along South Coast Highway 101.
For San Diego sandwich lovers, the arrival also adds another notable Los Angeles import to a county that has increasingly attracted high-profile Southern California restaurant brands looking beyond their home markets.
There is still no confirmed opening timeline for the first San Diego County Ggiata, and additional details about the size, design and specific menu for the Encinitas shop have not yet been announced. Given the company’s historically cautious approach to growth, however, the expansion represents a meaningful step for a brand whose founders said only months ago that they were preparing to open their first location beyond Los Angeles.
Ggiata Delicatessen is in development at 710 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. For more information, visit ggiata.com.
Originally published on September 3, 2026. Information first reported by Joey Reams of WhatNow.
The Encinitas location could prove to be a particularly natural fit for that neighborhood-focused model, bringing Ggiata to one of North County San Diego’s busiest restaurant corridors along South Coast Highway 101.
For San Diego sandwich lovers, the arrival also adds another notable Los Angeles import to a county that has increasingly attracted high-profile Southern California restaurant brands looking beyond their home markets.
There is still no confirmed opening timeline for the first San Diego County Ggiata, and additional details about the size, design and specific menu for the Encinitas shop have not yet been announced. Given the company’s historically cautious approach to growth, however, the expansion represents a meaningful step for a brand whose founders said only months ago that they were preparing to open their first location beyond Los Angeles.
Ggiata Delicatessen is in development at 710 South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas. For more information, visit ggiata.com.
Originally published on September 3, 2026. Information first reported by Joey Reams of WhatNow.
