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LA's Best Barbecue Destination Goes Dark for Extensive Six Week Overhaul

Bludso's BBQ in Compton will reopen mid-October

The ordering window at Bludso's BBQ in Compton
The ordering window at Bludso's BBQ in Compton
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Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

The iconic Bludso's BBQ in Compton is temporarily going offline, with ownership giving the place a top-to-bottom overhaul that will last weeks. That's bad news for fans of what is arguably the city's best barbecue, but fear not: they will be back, and better than ever.

News comes from owner Kevin Bludso himself, who says that after eight years it was time to clean up and retrofit the walk-up restaurant space. They don't have plans for now to add square footage for real seating or anything; this time around, it's all about updating equipment and taking care of a slew of small, nagging issues.

Bludso says his namesake spot on Long Beach Boulevard will need to take the entire month of September off, and then some. The plan is to reopen around October 10, keeping the same lunch-through-dinner hours as ever.

In the meantime, of course, you've got plenty of other opportunities to enjoy what Kevin Bludso and his team have been selling thanks to the more expansive Bludso's Bar & Que on La Brea, which opened years ago working the original Bludso's recipes, but with the addition of some other staples and lots of drinks. And if you're really feeling ambitious, there's even a Bludso's in Melbourne, Australia that you can visit.


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Bludso's BBQ

1329 Santa Monica Boulevard, , CA 90404 (310) 310-2775 Visit Website