Echo Park’s Longstanding Costa Alegre Flips to Baby Blues BBQ

Los Angeles barbecue mainstays Baby Blues BBQ recently applied to assume the liquor license from Costa Alegre, a longtime Echo Park Mexican restaurant situated right on Sunset Boulevard. The news, first reported by The Eastsider, has come as a shock to many in the neighborhood, as Costa Alegre currently remains open for business. Asked for comment by the publication, one co-owner declined to offer specifics but did acknowledge that a deal was being finalized.

On the Baby Blues BBQ side of the equation, the restaurant confirmed that Echo Park locals will indeed be able to eat their brisket and pulled pork soon enough, and in an area seriously lacking in barbecue options no less.

There was briefly Belle Belle’s ‘Cue further down in Chinatown, but that failed to catch on. Meanwhile, Ragtop Fern’s offers housemade barbecue at the edge of Historic Filipinotown and Koreatown. As for Baby Blues’s new Echo Park location, the vibe will be similar to their Venice outlet, meaning lots of casual wood tables and an expansive pan-regional menu.

Baby Blues BBQ started in 2004 on Lincoln Boulevard in Venice, and their operations have proven to be successful enough over the years that they have since expanded to San Francisco and Philadelphia. In September, Baby Blues closed their West Hollywood location after years when new ownership took over, and hinted that they were looking for a new space. Echo Park, it seems, is that space.

Baby Blues BBQ Echo Park
1901 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

• Pulled pork, anyone? More BBQ in the works for Echo Park [Eastsider]
• It’s Last Call For Ribs and Brisket at Baby Blues BBQ in West Hollywood [ELA]
• Baby Blues BBQ Expands Into Two-Year Old The Crossing Space Downtown [ELA]