In June of 2018, I sat down (watch the interview) with Rob Croxall, Founder of El Segundo Brewing Company, to learn about his new endeavor – The Slice & Pint Restaurant.
A construction zone at the time, Rob & his team were working day and night to bring hand-crafted pizza & beer to El Segundo. After more than a year of construction & six months after our sit-down, The Slice and Pint is officially open and El Segundo residents are excited!
The Slice and Pint officially opened its doors on Thursday, January 24, 2019. For two days, Rob & his team invited select family & friends for “Pizza Taster Nights.” According to Croxall, ”
The Slice and Pint opening night included a ceremony with family, friends, and City Council members:
The Hedding family visited The Slice and Pint this week and we were not disappointed. We (I) ordered way too much but I had heard about how good the food was prior to visiting and I wanted to taste as much as I could.
We started with an Italian Chopped salad (dressing was awesome) accompanied by Fried Mozzarella Sticks (taste was authentic) and Roasted Broccolini (small yet scrumptious) then graduated to a large pizza that delivered as promised. We enjoyed our first-of-many-to-come visits to The Slice and Pint – here are three reasons you’ll enjoy it, too!
Reason #1 – The Preparation
Anyone who knows Rob will tell you he’s a perfectionist. From the beer he brews to the food he offers, Rob thrives in research & preparation.
Preparation leading up to the opening:
According to Rob, “We visited many notable pizza restaurants as far away as Detroit to come up with our game plan. We all held many tastings with local vendors to source our ingredients to offer the product that we wanted. Over the past year, we worked with pizza consultant Noel Broener (who is quite high-profile in the LA pizza scene) to develop our crust and baking approach to get where we are. We are very happy with the outcome and believe we offer the best product in the area.”
“Pizza Taster” nights:
Starting on January 17, 2019, Rob & his team hosted a series of five “Pizza Taster” nights before the grand opening to get feedback from people in the community. El Segundo City employees, family, friends, and industry professionals applied to be “Pizza Tasters” with each completing a questionnaire as to what was working, what wasn’t, and any other ideas they had to improve the food & experience. Responses from the questionnaires were used as a tool to refine how the food was offered at The Slice and Pint in anticipation of the Grand Opening that took place on Thursday, January 24, 2019.
Reason #2 – The Food (and Drink!)
The dough, sauces, dressings, appetizers, and salads are all made in-house and by hand. According to Rob, this allows The Slice and Pint to offer the highest quality product exactly how they want. Rob is also a fan of responsibly sourced chicken and shrimp among other items which shows his kind-hearted soul that many of his friends will volunteer when speaking about him.
The Slice and Pint team spent the past year chasing the “perfect dough” for their pizzas and went through several iterations of many menu items before they were made available for the grand opening. Every item was “dissected,” according to Rob, to get it where they wanted and created new iterations of food such as their calamari (sliced calamari steaks rather than frozen rings out of a plastic sack).
Reason #3 – The Setting & People
One of Rob’s goals with The Slice and Pint was to create a community gathering place – what they’ve created is a family-friendly pizza place that happens to serve good, local beer.
Situated in the heart of downtown El Segundo on Grand Ave, The Slice and Pint building pays homage to its original brick design (it was a carpet showroom previously) offering many of the comforts you’d expect from a pizza restaurant – picnic-style tables adorn the restaurant with carefully placed booths to bring the family together.
Sports enthusiasts will appreciate the seven large flat-screen TVs spread throughout the restaurant which also includes a bar-seating area for smaller parties or individuals looking to catch a game while devouring carefully crafted beer & pizza.
Sports teams will soon swarm to The Slice and Pint with the restaurant offering a 2nd large eating area referred to as the “dugout” accompanied by a large shuffleboard for fun-spirited competitions.
Rob started El Segundo Brewing Company in 2011 as an entrepreneur with the help of family and friends – ESBC now employs 29 people & 26 have been added for The Slice and Pint with room for growth as the restaurant gains traction. According to Rob, “being able to create a living for so many people and families has been a humbling experience.”
Employees at The Slice and Pint were anxious to serve & eagerly anticipated our needs – you can feel the “good vibes” and general positive energy of the restaurant & the people that work there.
The current hours of operation are 5 pm to 10 pm M-S – Rob says within a week or so the hours will open up to 11 am to 11 pm.
About The Slice and Pint El Segundo
From their website:
El Segundo Brewingis opening(OPENED) a pizza-focused restaurant to showcase its beers alongside a few guest taps and local wines. The vibe will be very family friendly. The menu will be a variety of pizzas, a few of which will be seasonally rotated, as well as a varied menu of appetizers and salads including chicken wings, meatballs, and chicken parm to name a few. Our focus will be approachable food that is well sourced and executed extremely well. Think Jersey corner pizzeria meets SoCal coastal brewery
Congrats to The Slice and Pint team & thank you for bringing another spot for family & friends to get together!
