Vendors come and go at the historic Grand Central Market — but when the oldest stall quietly closed up shop, it sent shockwaves through food and historic preservation communities.
Roast to Go served its last gordita in late 2025, ending nearly 75 years of meat and Mexican antojitos. And while the legendary meat emporium is gone, La Sandungaa new Oaxaca stall from a familiar market face, has just opened in its place.
Roast to Go serves fried chicken, guisados, tacos and more from a stand in the middle of the expansive market hall. Since its founding in 1952, the stand has gained generations of fans — including the late LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold, who once Tcried“If they touch Roast to Go, I’ll be down there with a machete.”
Customer Andre Merritt, right, orders from Roast to Go in 2024.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Owner Sunnee Chung, who had operated the stand for the past 20 years, decided to retire for health reasons, among other things, and closed the restaurant in December.
Fans and preservation advocates Richard Schave and Kim Cooper of local tour group Esotouric posted several updates on the fate of the former stand, including the preservation of its hanging menu board.
Grand Central Market owner Adam Daneshgar told the Times he wanted to keep Roast to Go and even offered the stand's managers a path to ownership to keep it going.
“Ultimately,” he wrote in an email, “there was no one willing and able to take on the responsibility of continuing the business. So we did the next best thing for the space and the community – we helped pay it forward… We are grateful to Sunny.” [sic] There has been decades of love behind Roast To Go and we are excited to see new stories begin in the same space.”
Before Chung left, she tipped off a nearby vendor and friend about the upcoming vacancy: Michael Robles, owner of Olio Wood Fired Pizza and an Oaxaca native.
La Sandunga added an Al Pastor Trompo to the former Roast to Go area.
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
“She called me and said, 'I'll leave the room if you want to take this,'” Robles said.
After receiving approval to take over, he set about building his long-awaited food stand in Oaxaca using family recipes. About 80% of La Sandunga's ingredients come from Oaxaca, including tlayudas, chapulines and quesillo. The coffee also comes specifically from his hometown.
Robles grew up in Santa Catarina Juquila, about three hours from Oaxaca City. “I came to this country in 2004 with many dreams,” he said.
He always wanted to be a chef, having spent his formative years cooking at home with his grandmother.
Robles found his first job in the United States at California Pizza Kitchen, where he learned to make pizza and pasta. He honed those skills when he ended up at Nancy Silverton's Pizzeria Mozza and again at Olio, then owned by founder Brad Kent. In 2022, Robles helped Kent open the Bagel + Slice bagel shop and pizzeria in Highland Park.
The following year, Robles became the owner, as did Olio, but still dreamed of opening a restaurant in Oaxaca.
Sauteed imported chapulines with rice and beans at La Sandunga.
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
When he took over the Roast to Go stand, he added a grill and a plancha visible to guests, as well as a trompo. It took two months to complete the space.
Now he serves a rich menu of Oaxacan specialties, including chicken in moles—made, as in his family, from a mix of red and black moles—thanks to mole pastes sent from his parents in Oaxaca. Inspired by his grandmother's recipe, the lamb barbacoa requires a multi-day process that involves roasting the meat with avocado leaves for five hours. The tlayudas are almost table-sized and loaded with meat, black beans, nopales, quesillo and more. The Al Pastor, spun on a trompo behind the counter, is also made from a family recipe and coated in a generational marinade.
The new stand involves even more family members: Robles' sister helps with the company's paperwork and his brother helps with day-to-day operations. Robles' wife makes the sauce for the chilaquiles.
La Sandunga, Grand Central Market's newest vendor, took two months to renovate the former Roast to Go stand.
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
The sauce, the rice, the beans — everything, Robles said — are cooked fresh daily. He wakes up at 4 a.m. and heads to Grand Central Market at 5 a.m. to start cooking.
Robles said opening a taste of his hometown at Grand Central Market is especially meaningful given the location of his stand. He knows he has big shoes to fill.
“I want every Roast to Go customer to be happy with me,” he said. “I know people will miss the food from Roast to Go, but I want to bring other foods that you will love. That's why I try to make everything fresh and everything good: so that everyone is happy.”
La Sandunga is located in the Grand Central Market at 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles and is open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m
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