{"id":82926,"date":"2024-07-09T18:25:26","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=82926"},"modified":"2024-07-09T18:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T01:26:00","slug":"republic-of-pie-famed-purveyor-of-savory-and-sweet-opens-on-second-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/republic-of-pie-famed-purveyor-of-savory-and-sweet-opens-on-second-street","title":{"rendered":"Republic of Pie, famed purveyor of savory and sweet, opens on Second Street"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A renowned North Hollywood pie shop will hold a grand opening Friday at its expansion location on Second Street in Belmont Shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Pie<\/a> held a soft opening on July 4 but will officially open for business with a ceremony planned for 11 a.m. on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one-stop pie shop has been honored as one of the best in the nation<\/a> and, according to USA Today, it\u2019s one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just a pie house, we also have breakfast, sandwiches and coffee as well,\u201d said co-owner Marisa Cho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Diners in Republic of Pie on Second Street, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Along with classic pies like apple, cherry and banana cream, Republic of Pie features a variety of breakfast and lunch options along with specialty coffee and pastries like scones and danishes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extensive array of dessert pie flavors offer something for every taste bud: strawberry rhubarb, key lime, marionberry, cookies and cream, Earl Grey cream, espresso almond chocolate and blueberry peach. They range from $8.95 for a slice to $41.95 for a full pie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone curious about the flavors but unwilling to commit to a whole pie can order the Frankenpie, a pie flight made up of six slices of the customer\u2019s choice, for $45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Savory pies include chicken pot pie, turkey chili and a Thanksgiving pie that contains mashed potatoes, stuffing, chunks of turkey and cranberry sauce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Peanut butter at Republic of Pie in Long Beach, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Apple pie at Republic of Pie in Long Beach, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cho, who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, said she chose to open the expansion location in Long Beach because she fell in love with Belmont Shore while spending time with her dogs and grandkids at nearby Rosie\u2019s Dog Beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love the people, they\u2019re very friendly,\u201d Cho said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Pie took over the building that used to house Sancho\u2019s Tacos \u2014 an Orange County restaurant inspired by the band Sublime that expanded to Belmont Shore in 2017. The Long Beach locations closed in May. There are still seven others including as far away as Bakersfield and Oceanside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republic of Pie location on Second Street is dog-friendly like Cho\u2019s other location in North Hollywood, and she said she has already made friends with a few canine regulars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Pie also offers vegan or gluten-free pies, but whole-pie orders must be placed 24 hours ahead of pick-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Republic of Pie menu in Long Beach, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The exterior of Republic of Pie in Long Beach, Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The North Hollywood location occasionally hosts live music on a stage that\u2019s set up in the cafe. Unfortunately, the Belmont Shore location did not have enough room for a stage, but the interior seems right at home on Second Street with an outdoor patio and open-air setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before opening the first Republic of Pie in 2007, Cho owned an upscale sushi restaurant in downtown L.A. called R23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high-end restaurant used to sit on Second Street in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, but the high-stress environment ultimately led to her closing the beloved sushi destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cho said she chose to switch to pie because \u201cpie is easy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Growing up] I always liked to serve and it makes me happy when somebody enjoys my food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Boost your community’s voice; donate to the Post’s restaurant coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/givebutter-widget>\n\n\n\n

\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Cho speaks four languages fluently: Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and English. She often communicates with staff in their language of choice, including speaking Portuguese with one employee from Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Pie co-owner Inseung Choi brings a wealth of experience from operating restaurants in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, including Maruya Ramen in Downtown LA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republic of Pie, 5272 Second Street, is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want to try something truly unique, order the Thanksgiving pie with mashed potatoes, stuffing, chunks of turkey and cranberry sauce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":82922,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32323],"class_list":["post-82926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82926"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82930,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82926\/revisions\/82930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82926"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=82926"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=82926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}