Mega-Popular Colossus Bread Is Long Beach’s New Breakfast Hit

After months of waiting, south LA County bakery star Colossus Bread has opened in Long Beach. The new shop at 4716 2nd Street is the second storefront for owners Kristin Colazas Rodriguez and Nicholas Rodriguez, following fresh on the heels of their popular (and much smaller) bakery in San Pedro, which opened in 2019. The Long Beach area locals have long wanted to return to LBC proper with a shop of their own, and after months of frustrating delays they’ve now opened the doors to their new Belmont Shore home.

“We’ve wanted to open in Long Beach since the beginning,” Colazas Rodriguez told Eater earlier this year. “It’s actually been a part of my business plan since the beginning.” There’s good reason too, considering Colossus’s smaller beginnings as a farmers market stand back in the day. Since then the team has not only maintained a nostalgic pull to the community, they’ve also continued to hear from customers eager to have them back.

The new Belmont Shore location opened for service last weekend, and returns today keeping hours from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday. The larger restaurant not only accommodates more baking for both locations, but also allows for the long-awaited expansion of the menu beyond pastries, breads, and coffee. Colossus Long Beach also trades in sandwiches (including breakfast sandwiches, quiches, and more — including CSA pickups from area farms.

Mostly, Colazas Rodriguez is eager to get back to the community she calls home. “I grew up here,” she says, “I used to walk by when this place was an Italian restaurant. I went to high school with the owners’ daughter.” Now, she’s helped this small piece of her hometown find new life.

In other news:

• LA Family Housing’s annual Home Together fundraiser is back on April 29, and attendees can pair the virtual live event (featuring musical performances and lots of famous faces) with meals from participating restaurants like Gasolina Cafe, Petrossian, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, Socalo, Angelini Osteria, and more. Each three-course meal price includes a donation to the homeless advocacy group.
• There’s a rare and vintage cookbook sale going down Sunday at the Mar Vista Farmers Market, in support of Ellin Palmer. Proceeds from the sale of Palmer’s collection will go to help pay for medical expenses.
• The San Fernando Valley is finally getting its own HomeState. The breakfast taco specialists are opening up at 13424 Ventura Boulevard, formerly the site of an auto shop, with plans to create the largest HomeState restaurant to date — complete with booze.

• The Honeybird team is expanding to Claremont this summer, marking the fried chicken and pie shop’s third Southern California location. Meanwhile down in Newport Beach A+O Restaurant has just opened at the Balboa Bay Resort.
• The Pink Boots Society’s annual collaboration brews are out, pairing local breweries with women working in the beer industry for one-off brews available on site. They include beers found at Trademark Brewing in Long Beach as well as at Highland Park Brewery, Frogtown Brewery, and beyond.
• Trejo’s Tacos has opened at LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium just south of Downtown. The new tenant opened last weekend in the southeast corner of the facility.
• Champion’s Curry is now open in Irvine at the Trade Marketplace. The company, founded in Japan in 1961, also has a location in Long Beach.