Pizza restaurants continue to multiply across LA’s landscape. The best part about this growing interest is that these are primarily indie efforts and not chains that predominately feature cheap pizza with delivery service. For the indie owners, it’s all about quality and fulfilling a desire. The partnership owning Little Coyote on Long Beach recently opened a second location on N Los Coyotes Diagonal in Long Beach.
Leveraging their success from their 4th Street location in Long Beach, owners Jack Leahy and Jonathan Strader decided to expand their operations but wanted to keep Long Beach as their home base. They secured the location in a strip mall near Palo Verde Ave. Lou and Mike’s, a neighborhood eatery, formerly occupied this location.
Their first location is on Long Beach’s Retro Row. Because of its small size, they continue to operate take-out only. In their Los Coyotes Diagonal location, they are afforded more space and utilize indoor and outdoor dining. The property has a retractable door that opens, which leads to a sizeable outdoor patio. The opening provides ample ventilation.
Unlike many chain pizza restaurants, many customers elected to dine in. I observed couples, families, and groups dining together both indoors and outdoors. Because of its portion size, pizza is best served with others and makes for a great eating experience with family and friends.
Both co-owners are accomplished chefs, Strader worked with Kris Tominaga at The Hart and The Hunter, and Leahy attended culinary school in New York and was most recently executive chef at L&E Oyster Bar. Both hooked up together in 2015 when Strader opened Hatchet Hall in Venice.
The pies take a full 30 minutes to prepare because each one is made fresh to order. They knead the dough and toss it by hand, which adds additional time. It is large and thin, with a pleasantly salty crust with straightforward toppings such as pepperoni, sausage, fresh mozzarella, ricotta, spinach, and roasted red peppers. Prices range from $16 – $21.
Grandma Squares ($7) is a considerable slice made with focaccia bread. For some, it is large enough to make two meals out of it. The day after, I took my leftover Pepperoni Grandma Square and placed it in the oven for 10 minutes. I thought it was better than the day before. The top and bottom are crunchy, while the inside remains soft and fluffy.
I was impressed with The Classic Italian sandwich. The bread is toasted, which immediately supplies a nice crunch. They use thinly sliced capicola, soppressata, provolone, and a slightly spicy Italian sandwich spread, giving the sandwich a slight kick and some additional moistness.
Little Coyote 3500 Los Coyotes Diagonal, Long Beach, CA; littlecoyotelbc.com
Their original location in Long Beach’s Retro Row is at 2118 E. 4th St., Long Beach, CA