LOS ANGELES – In L.A. County, bars are still unable to operate unless they sell food along with alcohol in LA County, which has forced many businesses to close during the pandemic. This led one out-of-work chef to devise a mutually beneficial plan to sell her sandwiches at different bars and cafes that needed some meal options.
Chef Shanna Milazzo makes her sandwiches with her grandmother’s secret marinara sauce. Her trademark is an eggplant parm hero that's an Italian specialty she grew up eating.
“My grandmother’s recipe that I have been making since I was a little girl. She taught me how to cook,” said Milazzo.
Milazzo has worked as a chef around L.A. at many restaurants, even owning her now closed sandwich shop, Picnic, five years ago. Most recently, she was in the catering business, which came to a halt during the pandemic.
“Once everything shut down, I started slinging sandwiches. I went back to my roots, just having a lot of fun. I was at a loss of what to do. I needed to work. I needed to move around,” said Milazzo.
Her classic sandwiches have been keeping her busy and in business during the pandemic, as she is hand-making Italian favorites using the recipes she learned growing up in New York.
“I never went the Italian route for some reason. I don’t know why. I was talking to someone one night who suggested I go back to my roots. I am from a close-knit Italian family, so cooking all of my homemade food from growing up is really near and dear to my heart,” said Milazzo.
So, her new Picnic sandwich pop-up that’s run right out of her apartment serves chicken parm, eggplant parm, and Italian meat heroes through social media.
“My preorders are via DMs and Venmo. It’s super easy super simple,” said Milazzo.
The chef then took it a step further.
She thought of a plan that would also help other struggling businesses. She now partners with cafes, wine shops, and bars to sell her food through their storefronts. This is especially helpful for places that need food to sell alcohol. Recently, she was at Naughty Pig for Sunday football.
It's a mutually beneficial arrangement during this tough time.
“Some of these places wouldn’t be open if they didn’t have food. It’s nice I am helping somebody pay their rent,” said Milazzo.
Not only are Milazzo’s sandwiches helping other businesses pay rent, but they are also keeping her passion alive as she has plans to continue popping up at different bars and cafes around L.A.
The Picnic Pop-up schedule changes every week and you can follow along through Instagram.