Josef Centeno Flips Culver City’s BacoShop Into a Full-On Tex-Mex Destination

Sad news comes amidst tumultuous times for downtown Culver City, as casual restaurant BacoShop has closed. The loss ends a more than two-year run for Josef Centeno’s casual offshoot of his Downtown LA hit restaurant Baco Mercat, but don’t worry: Centeno isn’t giving up the space just yet.

In BacoShop’s stead comes Amacita, which ties its Tex-Mex roots to Centeno’s Bar Ama in Downtown LA. The plan is to flip BacoShop in a matter of weeks to a full service dining experience, complete with a liquor license instead of the beer and wine-only affair they’ve had up until now. As for the food, Centeno tells Eater that Amacita will still offer many of the classics like queso, guacamole, and breakfast tacos, as well as “more vegetable-forward Tex-Mex,” which is great news considering the chef’s way with veggies.

Thankfully, Baco fans will also still be able to order some of the previous menu’s best-sellers from the new Amacita, as Centeno and company will keep a few items around to cook up when needed as sort of a “cloud kitchen” model for delivery and takeout.

Meanwhile, Culver City continues to add a slew of new restaurant tenants, from an expansive multi-story food hall just across the street to new casual vegan option Doomie’s Home Cookin’ a block or two west. The final day of service for BacoShop was over the weekend, with Amacita coming in several weeks.

Amacita. 9552 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA.

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