About us

A Classic. Reimagined.

What began as a childhood staple is reimagined through quality, craft, and design—elevating peanut butter and jelly from nostalgia to a modern food brand.

At PBJ.LA, it’s not just a sandwich—it’s a pairing.

Inspired by traditional flavor combinations from around the world, each pairing is layered, balanced, and intentionally crafted. Curried cashew butter and mango–apple–ginger chutney. Chocolate hazelnut butter and dark cherry–Chianti jam. Spiced pistachio butter and fig–rosewater jam. Peanut butter, house-made plant-based bacon, and banana jam. Espresso peanut butter and dark chocolate–raspberry jam.

Crafted in-house with organic ingredients. Plant-based by nature—built for everyone.

Born in Los Angeles

The idea began during a workout at Sky Sport & Spa, where founders Jimmy Franklin and Payvand Salehi imagined a new kind of PB&J. Drawing on traditional nut and fruit pairings from cuisines around the world and closer to home, they began reinventing an American classic. Soon after, they brought on Brad Greenberg to help bring their ideas to life in the kitchen.

Even the way we sealed our sandwiches began with a childhood memory. Inspired by the way his mom made round PBJs by pressing the rim of a glass onto a sandwich, Jimmy and his dad designed a machine that cuts off crusts and seals the sandwich with a pull of a lever.

In 2017, PBJ.LA opened at Grand Central Market during its centennial year.

No one knew if people would pay a premium for something they’d spent a lifetime making cheaply at home. But they traveled from other cities, states, and countries to experience PBJ.LA.

From a little downtown kiosk, a childhood favorite became a destination.

The Relaunch

PBJ.LA paused full-time operations during COVID. During that period, one thing became clear: the love for PBJ.LA reached far beyond what a single kiosk could serve.

We chose not to reopen prematurely. We chose to rebuild.

During the shutdown, we acquired and rebuilt an old pizzeria on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood into PBJ.LA Kitchen & Bakery—the home of our next chapter.

Now, we’re preparing to return with some new flavors, boxes made for sharing, and local pickup and delivery. From there, we’re building toward frozen offerings that bring PBJ.LA to more homes, lunchboxes, gatherings, and celebrations—first locally, then farther afield.

We can’t wait to share what we’ve been crafting.

See you in 2027.

The future is delicious.