Arguably Southern California’s most celebrated local pitmaster, Kevin Bludso, is set to once again expand his scope of operations and open an outlet on Santa Monica Blvd. This will mark the first time that the celebrated chef from Compton has opened a new, full-scale restaurant in a decade.
Located at 1329 Santa Monica Blvd, the new branch of Bludso’s BBQ will have a minimum of 80 covers and include a full bar. The restaurant will occupy the space formerly held by Truxton’s bistro and is next door to the popular Chestnut Club, with parking spaces offered behind the building.
"For us, it was all about finding the right location and making the right choice. And all you need is patience to do that. Sometimes it takes longer than you wish," Bludso says. "But we’re glad we found the right space and we’re excited to be coming to Santa Monica."
The menu will be very similar to the La Brea restaurant, which opened in 2013, but it will also offer some Santa Monica-exclusive items.
"We’ve been exploring things like smoked turkey, instead of the heavier options like the brisket, the ribs. We’re building the kitchen a little bit differently, so we have the ability to bring in some specials, for example, and then do like a fried fish on Fridays," Bludso says. "We’re working with our culinary director to include more unique menu items and that will continue to evolve as we learn more about what the community wants."
The restaurant will also feature some televisions screens to show sporting events, but not an overwhelming number. Bludso stresses that this won’t be a "sports bar" in the traditional sense.
"The focus is that this is a neighborhood restaurant and the focus will be the barbecue that will always precede any other type of entertainment that we have in the restaurant," he says.
There’s no fixed opening date, but Bludso says it will be sometime in June, but absolutely positively "within the next 60 days."
Born and raised in south Los Angeles, Bludso opened his first restaurant in 2008 as a small, walk-up eatery. Refining his own techniques and flavors, which originated from years of cooking with his Texan family, he quickly became a hit and a critical success, ultimately opening Bludso’s Bar & Que on North La Brea Avenue.
Since then, he has opened a small outlet at the Proud Bird Food Bazaar near LAX, a concession stand at BMO Stadium, home to Los Angeles FC and even a standalone restaurant San Antone by Bludso’s BBQ in the Crown Casino on the Southbank in Melbourne, Australia.
His successes haven’t stopped there. Bludso has also appeared as a judge on the Netflix competition cooking series American Barbecue Showdown and his first book, The Bludso Family Cookbook: BBQ Soul Food and Family, From Compton to Corsicana, has been nominated for a James Beard Award.
