{"id":234698,"date":"2026-03-24T21:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/234698\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T21:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:30:09","slug":"the-mastermind-behind-pijja-palace-is-opening-a-south-asian-hand-roll-bar-in-lomita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/234698\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mastermind Behind Pijja Palace Is Opening a South Asian Hand Roll Bar in Lomita"},"content":{"rendered":"

Located on a quieter stretch of Western Avenue at the site of a former churro shop, Lomi Lomi spans just over 1,000 square feet and will be open for lunch and dinner when it debuts. \u201cI\u2019m excited to be in the South Bay and in an area less scene-y than Los Angeles,\u201d says Naran. (The restaurant\u2019s name is a nod to the city in which it resides and not the Hawaiian salmon dish<\/a> by the same name.)<\/p>\n

Taking a page from his Gujarati upbringing (\u201cReal estate\u2019s in our bones; we were taught ever since we were young about loans, refinancing, and shit like that,\u201d Naran says) and fast-food legend Ray Kroc\u2019s playbook (\u201cI love The Founder, it\u2019s one of my favorite films,\u201d he adds), Naran purchased Lomi Lomi\u2019s building at 26344 Western Avenue<\/a> along with his sister and brother-in-law. \u201cLA is so hard to operate in unless you have some control over labor, the space itself, or have an infrastructure that\u2019s Mike Glick big<\/a>,\u201d he says. \u201cI think you need to own land to really do well in the restaurant space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lomi Lomi will seat approximately 60 diners across its main room and an outdoor patio. Preen Inc.\u2019s Alexis Readinger<\/a> will lead the restaurant\u2019s design, drawing inspiration from \u201cthe haze of India,\u201d says Naran. (\u201cI think that\u2019s her euphemism for pollution, so it\u2019s gonna be amber inside,\u201d he jokes.) Early design treatments depict minimalist warm wood furnishings and an L-shaped terrazzo bar bathed in a golden glow.<\/p>\n

Before landing on the idea for Lomi Lomi, Naran planned to open an Indian seafood restaurant modeled after Trishna in Mumbai<\/a> called Little Spear. But the space\u2019s size ultimately called for something more casual, like a temaki bar; he points to New York\u2019s Nami Nori<\/a> as inspiration. \u201cI\u2019ve been obsessed with temaki for a year,\u201d says Naran. \u201cI don\u2019t know how to make it or anything. I\u2019ll figure it out. We\u2019ll find somebody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lomi Lomi\u2019s menu will include over a dozen hand rolls that take South Asian flavor influences (think masala-cured salmon and peppery crab Chettinad), a selection of snackable plates (like fried pakoras), and a few desserts (\u201cI might throw a churro on the menu because this was a churro space before,\u201d he says). The cocktail menu will exclusively focus on sochu highballs, a favorite style of Naran\u2019s and a practical call for Lomi Lomi\u2019s beer-and-wine-only licence. Lunch is estimated to run around $30 per person, while dinner rings in at $50 per person.<\/p>\n

While some diners and food journalists may be quick to label Lomi Lomi as an Indian Japanese fusion restaurant, Naran doesn\u2019t see the need to place the restaurant so neatly in a box. Though he acknowledges that some chefs, like his culinary inspiration Eddie Huang<\/a>, \u201cwant to tell an ethnic story,\u201d Naran\u2019s approach isn\u2019t rooted in a desire to share a specific cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying it\u2019s Indian straight out, I\u2019m just doing what I want. I don\u2019t like the conversations surrounding ethnicity. Why is food boiled down to your ethnic makeup?\u201d says Naran. \u201cJust shut up and eat food.\u201d<\/p>\n