{"id":198020,"date":"2026-02-28T11:40:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T11:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/198020\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T11:40:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T11:40:17","slug":"grand-central-markets-legendary-roast-to-go-closes-but-a-oaxacan-stall-rises-in-its-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/198020\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Central Market’s legendary Roast to Go closes, but a Oaxacan stall rises in its place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In historic Grand Central Market,<\/a> vendors come and go \u2014 but when its longest-running stall quietly closed shop, it sent shockwaves through food and historic-preservation communities.<\/p>\n

Roast to Go served its last gordita at the end of 2025, ending nearly 75 years of meats and Mexican antojitos. And while the legendary meat emporium is gone, La Sandunga<\/a>, a new Oaxacan stand from a familiar market face, just opened in its place.<\/p>\n

Roast to Go served roast chickens, guisados, tacos and more from a stall at the center of the sprawling indoor market. Since its founding in 1952, the stand earned generations of fans \u2014 including late L.A. Times Food critic Jonathan Gold, who once tweeted<\/a>, \u201cIf they touch Roast to Go, I will be down there with a machete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Customer <\/p>\n

Customer Andre Merritt, right, orders from Roast to Go in 2024.<\/p>\n

(Michael Blackshire \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Owner Sunnee Chung \u2014 who operated the stall for the last 20 years \u2014 decided to retire, in part due to health complications, and closed the restaurant in December.<\/p>\n

Fans and historic-preservation advocates Richard Schave and Kim Cooper of the local tour group Esotouric<\/a> posted multiple updates on the fate of the former stall, including the preservation of its hanging menu board<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Grand Central Market owner Adam Daneshgar told The Times he wanted to maintain Roast to Go, even offering the stall\u2019s managers a path to ownership in an attempt to keep it going.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately,\u201d he wrote in an email, \u201cthere was no one willing and able to take on the responsibility of continuing the business. So we did the next best thing we could for the space and for the community \u2014 we helped pass it forward \u2026 We\u2019re grateful to Sunny [sic] for decades of love poured into Roast To Go, and we\u2019re excited to see new stories begin in the same space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Chung departed, she tipped off a nearby vendor and friend about the impending vacancy: Olio Wood Fired Pizza owner and Oaxaca native Michael Robles.<\/p>\n

\"La <\/p>\n

La Sandunga added an al pastor trompo to the former Roast to Go space.<\/p>\n

(Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cShe called me and said, \u2018I\u2019m going to leave the space, if you want to take that,\u2019\u201d Robles said.<\/p>\n

After getting the approval to take over, he set out to build his long-dreamed-of Oaxacan food stall using family recipes. Roughly 80% of La Sandunga\u2019s ingredients are sourced from Oaxaca, including tlayudas, chapulines and quesillo. The coffee is also sourced specifically from his hometown.<\/p>\n

Robles was raised in Santa Catarina Juquila, about three hours from Oaxaca City. \u201cI came to this country in 2004 with a lot of dreams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d always wanted to be a chef, having spent formative years cooking at home with his grandmother.<\/p>\n

Robles found his first U.S. job at California Pizza Kitchen, where he learned to make pizza and pasta. He furthered those skills when he eventually landed at Nancy Silverton\u2019s Pizzeria Mozza, and again at Olio, then owned by founder Brad Kent. In 2022, Robles helped Kent open Highland Park bagel shop and pizzeria Bagel + Slice.<\/p>\n

The following year, Robles became the owner of it, as well as Olio, but still dreamed of opening a Oaxacan restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Saut\u00e9ed imported chapulines with rice and beans at La Sandunga.<\/p>\n

(Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

When he took over the Roast to Go stall, he added a grill and a plancha visible to guests, as well as a trompo. It took two months to ready the space.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s serving a robust menu of Oaxacan specialties, including chicken in mole \u2014 made, as in his family, by mixing red and black moles \u2014 thanks to mole pastes sent by his parents in Oaxaca. The lamb barbacoa is inspired by his grandmother\u2019s recipe, and requires a multiday process that calls for roasting the meat with avocado leaves for five hours. The tlayudas are nearly table-sized and heaped with meats, smears of black bean, nopales, quesillo and more. The al pastor that spins on a trompo behind the counter is also made with a familial recipe, coated in a generational marinade.<\/p>\n

The new stall is involving even more members of the family, with Robles\u2019 sister aiding in the business\u2019 paperwork and his brother helping with day-to-day operations. Robles\u2019 wife makes the sauce for the chilaquiles.<\/p>\n

\"La <\/p>\n

La Sandunga, Grand Central Market\u2019s newest vendor, took two months to renovate the former Roast to Go stall.<\/p>\n

(Stephanie Breijo \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

The sauce, rice, beans \u2014 everything, Robles said \u2014 are cooked fresh daily. He wakes up at 4 a.m., then makes his way to Grand Central Market by 5 a.m. to begin cooking.<\/p>\n

Opening a taste of his hometown in Grand Central Market is especially meaningful, Robles said, given the location of his stall. He knows he has big shoes to fill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want every Roast to Go customer happy with me,\u201d he said. \u201cI know the people are going to miss Roast to Go\u2019s food, but I want to bring different foods you\u2019re gonna love. That\u2019s why I try to make everything fresh and everything good: so every person\u2019s gonna be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Sandunga<\/a> is located inside Grand Central Market at 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.<\/p>\n