Chainsaw – Garage Pop-up & Bakery Opens in Melrose Hill

If you kept your finger on the pulse of the LA food community during the pandemic, pop-ups set Instagram ablaze. The normal act of going to a new restaurant and trying new food was now replaced by picking up food at a stranger’s residence (from a photo you saw) and eating it in your car.

I’m so excited to share with you a business that I’ve been itching to try since the pandemic: Chainsaw. Known for its delectable ice cream and mouthwatering pies, Chainsaw is the creation of Venezuelan-born Chef and artist Karla Subero Pittol. 

Photos by Jennelle Fong

Karla grew up in the eclectic Echo Park neighborhood, surrounded by great food and the ever-present Latin culture which so greatly defines LA’s unique melting pot. 

In 2013, Karla began working at Animal, where she met Chef Jonathan Whitener. In 2015, Jonathan opened Here’s Looking at You, with Karla leading as a pastry chef. Her pies became a total sensation — so much that the late and beloved LA Times’ writer Jonathan Gold called her slice “a slab of fruity deliciousness”. Karla was also a former sous chef at the three-starred Michelin restaurant, Providence. 

The following information was taken from Karla’s interview with the Spanish-Los Angeles shoewear brand LOQ, where she shared in great detail the origin of Chainsaw. This interview is from December 2020. It’s so interesting that before becoming a chef, Karla was well-known for her hosting parties. 

“I battle with major social anxiety, and making something to share with people has always served me the purpose of having an ice-breaker in situations that otherwise make me feel nervous and vulnerable. While I was in college, what started out as casual dinner parties to host new friends turned into a full-blown pop up out of my shared 1br apartment with up to 70 guests in an 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. window. By the time I was graduating in 2013, I’d been running the operation for two years, and I knew in my bones that I was going to become a chef.”

Although Karla knew she wanted to be a chef at her core, she was turned off by the hustle culture in such a male-dominated industry. After leaving Here’s Looking at You in 2017, Karla had a string of non-hospitality jobs that included co-founding a flower business, @sosiaflora. Then, in 2018, on a hot summer day in Hotel Figueroa, the concept of Chainsaw was born. She said to LOQ:

“I was with Sara Marlowe Hall, my unfathomably talented friend who is now creative director of the project, swimming in the Hotel Figueroa pool on a hot summer day three years ago. We lazed about while dreaming up our perfect restaurant that we felt didn’t quite exist in LA yet; a candlelit olive tree-laden somewhere that we could have really good snacks, a carafe of house wine that wouldn’t break the bank, and play rounds and rounds of cards without feeling pressured to leave. After saying all these things out loud, it occurred to me that making that place a reality wasn’t so far out of reach anymore at that point in my career. Together, and with the efforts of the team we’ve built, we’ve been fighting for it ever since.”

Karla’s curated dinners in her repurposed garage in Echo Park garnered media attention in 2019. The pictures evoked an irresistible urge to be there, showing hanging fish cooked over embers, sometimes on a live-fire grill, and a smiling Karla serving up bountiful trays of colorful food.

The space was thoughtfully decorated with vivid artworks and bamboo pendant lights. Amid the taper candles on the communal table, everyone seemed to have a blast in this cozy and intimate space. The positive energy permeated through the photos.

When the pandemic hit, Karla pivoted Chainsaw – which gained huge popularity thanks to the ice cream pints and pies that I mentioned earlier. Adhering to the strict COVID guidelines, Karla would handle your order on a basket through a rope from her window. It was one of these pictures that I found out about Chainsaw. In January 2021, Chainsaw made it to the “Best Pop-Ups of 2020” list by Eater LA. 

Karla said: “When the pandemic hit, my survival instinct was to develop products that could be packaged and passed around easily. That’s how the ice cream was born. I’d been wanting to incorporate a long-time love of making ice cream into the project for so long, but the urgency just wasn’t there during the garage days. Once I really internalized the fact that events were indefinitely cancelled, I got a fancy ice cream maker and made it happen.”

In the following years, Karla continued hosting the garage pop-ups. According to a caption on Karla’s IG account, every cent that went into Chainsaw was funneled back to find it a permanent home.

When LOQ asked her about an item that could always be found on the menu, Karla responded:

“Always and forever, there will be pie. It was a happy accident that one day when I was at work I misordered peaches by a whole case, which is an expensive mistake when dealing with top-notch fruit. I told my boss through clenched teeth not to worry — that I’d just make some pies with it and run them up for a few days until the flat was gone. Some people kept coming back to the restaurant just for pie day after day in a really exciting way. That’s when I knew I’d landed on something special. Now I have a range of flavors that change seasonally or with my mood.”

Although I never went to her garage pop-ups, I subscribed to her newsletter around 2021 and always got notified of the upcoming dinners, where you had to pay a fee to book your spot. I believe it was about $85.

In November 2025, after years of hard work and many iterations, Karla accomplished her dream of finding a permanent house to Chainsaw. With the brick-and-mortar, Karla is finally able to share the essence of her garage pop-ups, warm hospitality and delicious food. On the opening week in mid-November, the turnout was so massive that the sidewalk was completely blocked! This is why I made sure to go on a weekday. Karla assured me later that the business was quite relaxed throughout the week.

In previous interviews, Karla shared her joy of bringing savory dishes that pay homage to her Venezuelan roots. After combing through reviews, the stars of the show are the arepas and of course, the pies. Would they be as good as people claim? 

The business is located in the up-and-coming Melrose Hill, an area that I’ve been finding myself going to a lot lately for my new favorite workout studio (Folm), and Cafe Telegrama. 

Chainsaw’s interior follows the same rustic atmosphere as the monthly garage pop-ups: distressed walls, vibrant flower arrangements, colorful fruit and fresh herbs hanging on a rack. Add the romantic old-school Spanish music and you’ll feel like you’re at a cafe, somewhere in Havana. The music was so spot-on! This is the type of space where you want to linger after you have your meal – which is exactly what I did when I went there.  

For now, the menu is limited to arepas, empanadas, pork milanesa (crispy breaded pork) and pies. However,expect to find new dishes in December and next year. Karla also hinted at upcoming Sri Lankan dishes, both in a previous interview with Graza and when I asked her about it.

“My partner is Sri Lankan and before him, I had little to no experience with the cuisine. I’d heard so much of his mum’s exceptional beef curry, but it was the only recipe she couldn’t relay because of how in-the-moment it is. I finally met her and watched her make it step by step while recording every eyeballed measurement to try and transcribe it not only for me, but for their family. All this is to say that I now have the recipe for the dish, and it’s on my near future bucket list to make it myself and do it some serious justice. Following that is another Sri Lankan dish called Black Pork Curry. I had a homemade version from his father and it was life changing,” she said.

When I walked in, Karla brought a freshly made apple strawberry pie and placed it on the counter before taking my order. For drinks, Karla said, “Stephanie makes the absolute best coffee”. Following Karla’s advice, I got an iced coffee with caramel which is very typical in Venezuela and that surprisingly, was not cloyingly sweet. 

Karla suggested the beef arepa, which came with beans, green sauce, avocado, shredded beef and soft cheese. The balance of flavors and textures is what makes an arepa stand out – and Karla excelled at it. This arepa was simple, savory and loaded with flavor in every bite. 

The empanada was a perfectly folded, fluffy black corn masa with warm, gooey cheese inside, and it came with a tangy green sauce to pair it with on the side. I loved this one!

In the arepa and empanada, the highlight for me was the impossibly soft masa, and the silky, vibrant green sauce, which was very subtle but provided the perfect oomph to these Venezuelan staples, especially with the juicy shredded beef.

Passionfruit Lime Pie – Karla’s signature pie. The hype is real!! Karla’s deeply chilled passionfruit pie was rich and zesty – bursting with tropical sweetness from the passionfruit and creamy tartness that was complemented by a delicious Graham cracker crust. The distinct tropical flavor of the maracuya (passionfruit) instantly transported to my Dominican mom’s maracuya mousses. “Isn’t it nostalgic?” said Karla when I mentioned it to her. This pie is definitely a must if you’re a first-timer. I’m still thinking about it!

Double Crust Apple Strawberry Pie – Karla brought this to the counter soon after I walked in, and it looked so temptingly delicious that I couldn’t resist taking home a slice to go. This pie was a juicy delight, bursting with fresh strawberries and hints of apple, held together with a thick sugary crunch. Karla hit the nail on the head once again. This isn’t the exact pie, but it looked somewhat like this:

Karla’s warmth and hospitality beamed throughout the space, and the all-female team was as warm as her, like Stephanie — who handed me my two coffees (I took another one to go) with her charming smile.

I felt right at home at Chainsaw, speaking Spanish, my native language, with Karla, sipping on delicious homemade coffee and indulging in amazing food in such a homey atmosphere. If you can, I highly suggest eating your food there while it’s hot and fresh. Another thing I noticed is that even after trying most of the menu, I did not feel heavy in the slightest – which speaks volumes of the high-quality ingredients Karla uses. I look forward to trying the Pork Milanesa on my next visit! 

After living in her place in Echo Park for 13 years, Karla now lives in Silver Lake with her boyfriend but still holds events in her beloved Echo Park garage. I love asking people questions about LA and their favorite places, so here they are! 🙂

What are your favorite places in LA?

My favorite spots in LA are…. Wow, I’m going to give away my secrets right now (laughs). My favorite restaurant in LA is the Roasted Duck Restaurant in Thai Town – it’s called Roasted Duck by Pa Ord. The Roasted Duck Noodle Soup? I dream of it and eat it at least three times a month. 

I just had dinner at Rasarumah a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve been so excited to try it because I used to eat Johnny’s food at Pearl River Deli (now closed). I love Malaysian and Indonesian flavors, and it was sooo good. A week after I had dinner there, Infatuation named it the best restaurant in LA and I was like, “yes! Why are more people not talking about it?” It’s so good! 

If I’m getting a glass of wine, probably nico’s in Atwater. It’s literally my favorite place. There’s always an activity or event every month. The wine is super yummy, the decor is gorgeous, and it’s super fun there. 

It’s been quite a few years. How do you feel that Chainsaw is finally open to the public?

It was a nightmare trying to get this restaurant open. A lot of tears, sleepless nights, but now that it’s open I’ve never been happier. I just had one day off for the first time in two or three months a couple of weeks ago, and I’m so excited to come back to work. Now that it’s here… everything was worth it. All the hard stuff was worth it. 

What are the future plans for Chainsaw?

We’re growing but for now, I want to keep it light and tight. We get soo busy for pie season: Thanksgiving and then the holidays that follow. So, I want to make sure that every pie that leaves the shop is perfect because during the holidays, we’ll probably make around 600 pies or more. Once we get through piemania, we’ll expand the menu.

For the month of December, I’m going to start featuring some Venezuelan Christmas foods that you’ll only find around Christmas: pan de jamón, hallaca… and we’ll also start rolling out pastries. 

Thank you Karla! Lastly, what do you like about living in LA?

Oh my God, I can’t imagine living anywhere else! I’ve been here for so long… It’s the color, it’s the warmth of the sun, it’s the different people, how every neighborhood has different architectural styles within one square block. It’s all of it. It’s el sazón. (laughs). 

Chainsaw: Website and Instagram

Address: 5022 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90038