Delco Native Slinging Philly-Style Italian Hoagies In Los Angeles

HAVERTOWN, PA — The Philadelphia region has countless hoagie purveyors serving up their own variations of the iconic Italian sandwich.

While those in the area know the beauty of a great Italian hoagie, West Coasters — save for some East Coast expats — do not.

Luckily, Havertown native Josh Agran is acting as an envoy for the greatness of Italian hoagies to Los Angelenos, one pop-up at a time.

Agran grew up in Delco, hitting up Lee's Hoagies in Wynnewood as a kid and then spots in South Philly, arguably the best place to get authentic Italian hoagies.

So when he found himself in Los Angeles in early 2020, he noticed a severe lack of standout sandwiches.

"LA has a lot of good burgers and tacos," he said. But the sandwich scene, according to him, is "famously bad."

While working at Cookbook Market in the City of Angels, Agran decided to use some of the market's deli offerings and a popular Los Angeles baguette to make his coworkers something as close to a real Italian hoagie as possible.

"They were gobsmacked with how good they were," he said of his colleagues' reaction to the sandwich.

While Agran had the meats, he didn't have the right peppers, cheese (he used cheddar in place of the classic provolone), or a soft roll such as those from Amoroso or Liscio's.

Nevertheless, it was a hit.

His reaction to their fawning over it?

"It's a f***ing hoagie."

So how did Agran, who plays in a hardcore band and is taking a stab at acting (you may have seen him in a national commercial for diabetes medication Rybelsus), end up hosting weekly hoagie pop-ups that routinely sell out?

Well, it's partially due to actor Elijah Wood's suggestion.

Wood lives nearby Cookbook and has a rapport with staff there as he frequents the market, Agran said.

Wood came into the store one day and saw Agran's hoagies being thoroughly enjoyed by the staff.

"He walks in and says, 'wow you made Philly hoagies, I love Philly hoagies!'"

Wood said he should launch a pop-up, which was met with emphatic agreement by his coworkers.

The pop-up became an afterthought for a while, but in January 2023 when the Eagles were headed to the Super Bowl, a friend of his suggested the pop-up in honor of the Birds' bid.

"I was inspired, and I said let's do it."

The first thing he did was pickup the uber-popular baguette from Bub And Grandma's Wholesale bakery, which Agran said is a staple in higher-end restaurants in the Los Angeles area.

On his way there, he looked down at his leg, where a "Delco rose" tattoo his friend gave him lives.

"He told me, 'you're a Delco rose."

And that's when the name Delco Rose Hoagies was chosen for his new venture; the tattoo serves as the pop-up's logo.

When he arrived at Bub And Grandma's Wholesale, he learned owner Andy Kadin is a New Jersey native whose parents were from the Philly suburbs.

For some background, Bub And Grandma's Wholesale sells good from outside vendors, and the waiting list to have products featured in store is quite long, Agran said.

But the connection to the East Coast got him in to host his Delco Rose Hoagies pop-up for the Super Bowl.

"Come Super Bowl Sunday, I made 60 sandwiches and sold them out fast," he said.

A month later, he hosted another pop-up and that's when comedy actor, writer, director, and foodie Eric Wareheim, who grew up in Montgomery County and is a Temple University alum, sent him a message online.

Wareheim asked when the next pop-up was, and that happened to be the "Tim And Eric" star's birthday.

Wareheim showed up and called the hoagie "perfect."

"He loved it," Agran said.

Wareheim, who has nearly 460,000 followers on Instagram, posted about Delco Rose Hoagies to his followers, which led to the Delco Rose Hoagies social media account to gain about 600 followers in 15 minutes, according to Agran.

From there, Agran knew he had something special and was looking for a new spot to do his pop-ups.

He found Delco Rose Hoagies' "home" at an unassuming table in Echo Park Lake.

"Once I got there, I posted online and all these people showed up."

Now, he's there weekly with exactly 30 traditional Italian hoagies and six veggie hoagies.

And those 36 hoagies sell out consistently.

Oh, and Wood himself did actually get a Delco Rose Hoagie at one of the pop-ups, Agran said.

He tapped into an online ordering system thanks to husband and wife duo Max and Carly Simon, who run a challah bread business called Challahdad. Carly Simon is a Pennsylvania native herself.

Now, Philly area expats and West Coast converts can order their hoagies ahead of time via Hot Plate and scoop them when the pop-up opens.

His customers who grew up with the Philly style of hoagies gush about the authenticity and nostalgia they feel when biting into the sandwiches.

"They'll be like, 'Oh my god, thank you,'" he said. "They say it makes them feel at home."

The key to a good hoagie, in Agran's opinion, is a reasonable amount of traditional Italian hoagie meats, plenty of the sandwiches classic veggies, just enough provolone for the flavor to come through, a "micro-thin" layer of mayonnaise, and — of course — oil and red wine vinegar.

The funny thing about being extolled as a hoagie guru is that Agran said "anyone with any slight amount of cooking knowledge" can make a good hoagie.

But, Agran has carved out a special place for himself in the community regardless.

"I didn't intend to do this," he said of making his hoagies a business venture.

But still, he said the revenue from the pop-ups is making the famously expensive Los Angeles cost of living more manageable.

"I'm very thankful that it's turned out to be this," he said.

For now, Agran is focused on keeping his sandwiches consistent and the process fun and easy.

However, he's open to hosting Delco Rose Hoagie pop-ups in other areas of the Los Angeles region.

"If it grows, we'll see," he said of possible expansion and even a potential brick-and-mortar outpost.

Check out Delco Rose Hoagies on social media.