Twenty years ago, Susie Sarich opened the first SusieCakes in Brentwood with her grandmother’s handwritten recipe cards and a dedication to scratch baking. SusieCakes is marking the  20th anniversary with a community storytelling giveaway, a fan-voted menu comeback, and its annual BOGO event on Saturday, July 18.

The bakery is asking guests to share their favorite SusieCakes memory. Through Wednesday, June 24, anyone can submit a written story (with bonus consideration for a nostalgic photo) to atsusiecakes.com/20th-birthday. On Wednesday, July 8, SusieCakes will announce 20 grand prize winners, one for each year in business, with each winner receiving a Year of SusieCakes, 12 gift certificates.

SusieCakes

Susie Sarich (Got Milk)

Then, ahead of the July birthday, fans can vote on Instagram to bring back a menu item for a limited run. The candidates are lemon bars, celebration sugar cookies, Whoopie Pies, and  Susie’s animal crackers. The winning item returns to bakeries from Saturday, July 18, to Sunday, July 26.

On Saturday, July 18, every location will celebrate the anniversary with a BOGO cupcake event. Loyalty program members get a free regular-size cupcake with the purchase of any regular-size cupcake, up to three free cupcakes per transaction. The first 20 guests to purchase at each location will also receive a limited-edition SusieCakes mini tote bag. 

The first official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria will open in Santa Monica on Saturday, June 20, on the Third Street Promenade. The 3,000-square-foot restaurant is designed as an immersive environment inspired by the original 1980s TMNT universe.

The menu will focus on classic New York-style slices and whole pies developed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based pizza consultant Angelo Womack, a veteran pizzaiolo with more than two decades of experience helping restaurants around the country execute New York-style pizza programs. Womack previously owned and operated Michelin-recognized Oak & Rye in San Jose and worked with pizza brands like  Roberta’s, Scarr’s Pizza, Mama’s Boy, Glide Pizza and Manos.

There will be signature pies like Cowabunga Cheese, with fresh mozzarella, tomato sauce, parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil; Shredder’s Revenge, with pepperoni, jalapeños and Mike’s Hot Honey; and Rocksteady’s Meat Smash, with Italian sausage, bacon, pepperoni, ham and prosciutto. 

By day, the pizzeria offers a family-friendly environment with free arcade games and transitions into a more adult-oriented setting, with happy hour offerings and a cocktail program at night.

SusieCakes

Courtesy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria

A new immersive dining series and chef showdown from Chef Jasper Lynn and Rosalynn Supper Club, in partnership with Maison Kasai, is coming to  Level 8 on Thursday, June 25. 

The evening will unfold across eight distinct dishes prepared live on Maison Kasai’s teppanyaki grills. As chefs rotate between tables, guests experience each dish in real time, creating an atmosphere that blends dining with the excitement of a live culinary showdown where guests get to taste, score, judge, and help crown a winner.

HOT PLATE: Chef Showdown will feature chefs Alex Belew (former Hell’s Kitchen champion), David Philip Mungcal, and Danica Kim for the inaugural dinner; the series highlights the diversity of AAPI voices shaping today’s culinary landscape. Additional evenings will be announced soon.

What’s Popping Up is a column in the L.A. Weekly that explores everything new in food and drink