Panxa Cocina Verified listing

Panxa in Long Beach—fresh off of celebrating a decade of service in Belmont Heights—introduced Chef Richie Ramirez late 2025. Since then, Chef Richie has been exploring every aspect of the space—especially tightening the kitchen.

“A lot of my time here has honestly been spent creating systems,” Chef Richie said. “Making sure we’re not wasting food, making sure mise en place is right… Creating actual direction in the kitchen. I had to make sure the basics were in place before we could move on to the food. The guys here know how to cook; it wasn’t about that. It was more about not having direction: Giving them recipes. Giving them structure. And they’ve been really happy about that.”

That has allowed him to explore the other parts of his new culinary home. Panxa’s tether to Chef Arthur Gonzalez and Vanessa Auclair, and their roots in New Mexico’s food. His own exploration of Levantine, Southwest, Mexican, and SoCal food traditions…

“I’m not sticking to Southwestern cuisine as tightly as before—but I am still using Southwestern ingredients,” Chef Richie said. “I’m using what I know about Mexican food, hatch chile—things like that—and applying them to flavors I’m learning from Persian and Levantine cooking. I think it makes sense while moving Panxa forward.”

Written by Brian Addison. Photos by Brian Addison / Courtesy of business.