Marcona, a Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, gourmet sandwich and fine foods purveyor, successfully passed the one-year mark on March 20, 2013, and to celebrate, the shop will offer up its entire menu of sandwiches at a promotional price of just $3.29 each on Friday, March 29, from 12 to 4 p.m.
Marcona temporarily closed for a brief stint in March, as it underwent a first birthday, interior facelift, and geared up to introduce a slightly revised menu and new chef, Andy Sonnefeld.
Marcona officially reopened on Monday, March 25.
One highlight of Marcona's changes is that it now boasts a strong coffee program, as well as a dedicated iced-coffee system, with all coffee supplied by NoCal's premier bean provider, Equator Coffees & Teas.
With Equator's goods now in-house, Marcona—which prides itself on its use of only the finest ingredients, both locally sourced and imported from around the world—joins the likes of chefs Thomas Keller and Suzanne Goin, who are also known for being partial to the Equator coffee brand.
In addition to Marcona's aesthetic upgrade, the menu also received some edits intended to improve, and shine the spotlight on, its most popular items.
A few new sandwiches and salads have been introduced (like a Shredded Chicken Sandwich with slaw and sweet glaze, on a baguette; and a Kale Salad with radicchio, quinoa, apple, walnut, Parmesan, and lemon vinaigrette), while some other items have been nixed to better focus on Marcona's all-stars, such as its Lomo (pulled pork, grilled onion, mustard, Harissa, and arugula on ciabatta) and the VBQ (vegan meatloaf, caramelized onions, barbecue, and arugula on ciabatta).
Marcona has also secured a new bread provider for all of its sandwiches.
In addition, Marcona's sides selection has been pared down, with sides rotating in and out as weekly or bi-weekly specials.
Marcona's kitchen also received a new fryer, which will eventually turn out fried pickles, shoe-string fries, beignets, and other assorted fried items.
"Both our walk-in and catering customers definitely have favorite menu items, and certain sandwiches have made Marcona a lunch destination,” says Collier Ulrich, Marcona’s owner. “We didn't want to rock the boat with the new, revised menu; we just wanted to make Marcona's signature items even better, while simultaneously introducing a few new menu options.”
Marcona's new menu, created in part by the shop's new chef, will be introduced in phases, with the somewhat edited, temporary version in effect now through early May, when an updated, evolved, seasonal menu will debut.
In keeping with one of Ulrich's original intentions for Marcona, which was to have the space also support and showcase the local artist community, upon reopening, Marcona's walls will be adorned with curated black and white photography by Los Angeles–based photographer Brandy Eve Allen.
Allen's pieces will remain on display at Marcona for the next three months.
Marcona features classic East Coast deli fare elevated by Mediterranean influences and a West Coast approach.
The carefully curated menu prominently features sandwiches, but also includes salads and sides.
Marcona also sells "sweet" items like cookies, pastries, cakes, and more. Marcona has full-service catering, pick-up, and delivery order services for anything from smaller office lunches to craft service to large-scale events, both corporate and private.
