Bub and Grandma’s finally on the rise on Eagle Rock Boulevard

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The sign outside of Bubs and Grandma's Breads on Eagle Rock Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA. Sept. 13, 2022. Angela Guglielmino/The Occidental

Founded as a wholesale bakery in 2015, Bub and Grandma’s officially opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant Sept. 12. Founder Andrew Kadin said his team has overcome many challenges since signing their lease for 3507 Eagle Rock Blvd. on Nov. 2019.

“When Covid kicked in, during March 2020 and very shortly thereafter, about 75 percent of our investment went away,” Kadin said.

This issue, in addition to problems with contractors and timelines, left the restaurant in jeopardy according to Kadin.

“I had never experienced these difficulties before. It was just excruciating,” Kadin said. “That was an unfortunate three-year absurdity, one cosmic joke after another.”

Kadin said that the eventual opening, following years of challenges, exceeded his expectations.

“Oh, man, I was just crying all over the place. It was incredible,” Kadin said. “When that signboard went up outside, it was like the last puzzle piece that went in after three years, and I let myself feel those emotions.”

The founder of Bubs and Grandma’s Breads, Andy Kadin, at his restaurant in Los Angeles, CA. Sept. 13, 2022. Angela Guglielmino/The Occidental

As the business grows, Kadin said he is excited to work with his passionate team.

“It’s just the ultimate group of human beings,” Kadin said.

Head pastry chef Christopher Lier said that after years of grappling with uncertainty about the future of the business during the pandemic, the team around him has been essential.

“We got such a great team,” Lier said. “I am proud of the food we are putting out.”

Lier said he connected with Kadin over food and they talked about working together in the culinary world even before Lier had decided to go to culinary school.

“How [Kadin] thought of food aligned with how I felt, and I knew we could make it on many different levels, so I gave it a chance,” Lier said.

From the beginning, Lier said he was very impressed by Kadin’s bread and his commitment to it.

“He was starting to make bread that was very impressive,” Lier said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is good, this is not just the homemade stuff. He’s really going for it, he’s really dedicated to trying this out. I’m definitely on board to try it.'”

According to Kadin, it was only once Lier officially joined the business that it began to take off.

“Once we got Chris into the mix, that was when things started growing incredibly rapidly,” Kadin said. “We went from three to 60 accounts in a year and a half.”

Kadin said his team is rounded out by the restaurant’s head chef, Zach Jarrett, who previously worked at Sqirl in East Hollywood. Jarrett said he works hard to achieve simplicity without cutting corners.

“One of the most special things about the restaurant, for me, is simple food,” Jarrett said. “We are obsessive over the details of it.”

Bread in Bubs and Grandma’s Bread on Eagle Rock Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA. Sept. 13, 2022. Angela Guglielmino/The Occidental

Ultimately, Kadin said, the time and pain this journey took have not put a damper on the restaurant’s goals. Kadin said there was one positive outcome of the pandemic for the business: time to assemble a talented team.

“We have not really adjusted what we wanted to do,” Kadin said. “In fact, I think over time, we have expanded it.”

Kadin said Bub and Grandma’s has actually exceeded its original conception, expanding its menu to include beer, wine and in-house roasted coffee.

Kadin has garnered over 20,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts updates about their kitchen and journey, but Kadin said he prefers making face-to-face connections at the restaurant.

“I’m happy that everybody’s so interested in us,” Kadin said. “But, in my own community I’ve lived in so long, it means so much more to dig in and make sure that we’re connecting with people in a real way, not in some fabricated Instagram way.”

According to Kadin, the restaurant’s “Bubs local” program, which allows Eagle Rock residents to receive 5 percent off every order, is one way they welcome the local community.

Kadin also said they donate all the bread that has not been used at the end of every day.

A meal at Bubs and Grandma’s Bread on Eagle Rock Boulevard in Los Angeles, CA. Sept. 13, 2022. Angela Guglielmino/The Occidental

Jarrett said welcoming their patrons into the shop has been a rewarding experience.

“Opening and seeing a really diverse group of people coming, people who have lived here, and people that have lived here for 20 years, is neat,” Jarrett said.

While a new chapter just began for Bub and Grandma’s, Kadin said he is excited about its future in Northeast LA.

“It’s been so far beyond anything that I could have imagined and I’m very thankful for that,” Kadin said.

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