Carla Cafe, the Los Angeles sandwich brand that started with Instagram orders out of a home kitchen, is heading to Pacific Palisades. Owners Avi Ahdoot and Jessica Horell plan to open a walk-up-window location inside Palisades Village in spring 2027, making it the brand’s third location.
The expansion was first detailed by the Palisadian-Post, which reported that Ahdoot and Horell decided to finalize a lease at Palisades Village after visiting the area following the Palisades fire. Ahdoot told the outlet he and his wife worried that seeing the devastation in person would leave them depressed, but instead found that the special feeling he associated with the Palisades had remained. He said the space still felt like the Palisades once he arrived.
Carla Cafe is owned by Ahdoot and Horell, who are described by the Palisadian-Post as co-owners of the Los Angeles-based business, with current locations in Century City and on West Third Street. The new Palisades Village spot, according to the same report, will occupy a 562-square-foot space adjacent to Alfred Coffee and will lean on a walk-up window rather than walk-in service, with much of the footprint dedicated to kitchen operations. Customers will be able to dine in the open areas and green spaces scattered throughout the shopping destination, the Palisadian-Post notes.
From Instagram Orders to a Cult Following
The brand's roots trace back to 2020, when a photo of Ahdoot's tuna chop sandwich went viral, according to the Palisadian-Post's account. Before that, per Eater LA, Carla Cafe started in May 2020 when Ahdoot's girlfriend posted a photo of one of his sandwiches to her Instagram account. The business operated out of Ahdoot's home before he eventually offered pickups through a window at Bootsy Bellows, according to Eater LA.
In those early days, Ahdoot personally made deliveries around Los Angeles, and the Palisades was reportedly one of the most popular areas for Carla Cafe orders at the time. The Los Angeles Times reports the business quickly built a cult following through sold-out sandwich drops during its pop-up run, before opening a Beverly Grove storefront in 2024 and the Century City location the following year. The tuna chop sandwich remains a fan favorite on the menu today.
What's Planned for the Menu
The Palisades Village menu is still being finalized, but the Palisadian-Post reports Carla Cafe plans to offer the OG Breakfast Burrito in the morning, along with a garlic aioli chicken sandwich, tuna chop sandwich and chicken Caesar wrap for lunch. Dinner options are expected to include a classic cheeseburger with house-made sauce and a fried chicken sandwich. Palisades Village's own listing for the cafe describes the brand as known for its chicken aioli sandwiches, fresh chopped salads and other cafe favorites, and notes the business began as a homegrown sandwich operation taking orders through Instagram.
A Rebuilt Village Fills Back In
Carla Cafe's arrival is part of a broader reopening at Palisades Village, which came back online after a 19-month restoration that cost more than $100 million, following the 2025 Palisades fire, according to the Los Angeles Times. The center reopened with about 70% of its shops and restaurants back in business, and roughly one-third of its tenants are new, the Times reported in a separate article. Elsewhere in the Times' reporting, the shopping center was described as 99% leased, with one-third of its shops new.
Other Palisades businesses have been working their way back as well. The Palisadian-Post reported that Spacca Tutto was scheduled to open at Palisades Village on October 15, while Cafe Vida was said to be close to opening a new location at the northern end of Highlands Plaza on Palisades Drive. For Ahdoot, the momentum reflects a community eager to come home. He said people are excited to return to the Palisades, and that people at the brand's other locations have told him and Horell they expect to move back to the area in a few months. Ahdoot added that Carla Cafe is optimistic about the Palisades location and the community's return.
Beyond the Palisades, the Palisadian-Post reports Carla Cafe's founders are also weighing further Los Angeles-area growth, with the Valley, the South Bay and potentially Orange County among the regions under consideration.
