Health department shuts new Cedric the Entertainer barbecue joint. Will it reopen this weekend?
AC Barbeque is located in a corner of the Westfield Century City mall's dining hall and held its grand opening May 7 but shut down on Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ordered the celebrities' restaurant to close, citing a lack of permitting.
AC Barbeque 'opened without approval or permit,' a representative for the county health department told The Times in an email.
A representative for the restaurant told The Times that the city of Los Angeles had approved the restaurant before its opening date, but a county official who visited AC Barbeque during its opening week shut down the operation, noting that its permitting application was incomplete.
The AC Barbeque team has since resubmitted the permitting paperwork and hopes to reopen by the end of this weekend.
The new joint venture serves as the first bricks-and-mortar extension of longtime friends and barbecue enthusiasts' TV show 'Kings of BBQ.' The A&E series follows the pair as they visit pitmasters across the country and explore the history, flavors and cultural influence on and stemming from the cuisine.
Comedy veteran Cedric the Entertainer — whose birth name is Cedric Antonio Kyles — has appeared in 'The Neighborhood,' the 'Original Kings of Comedy' tour and 'Barbershop,' among other shows and films, while Anderson's decades of credits include 'Blackish,' 'Law & Order' and 'We Are Family.' The duo hope to highlight Black culture in their new restaurant, as they do in their show, diving into the community's contributions to barbecue. In the future, they hope to host specials from and appearances by guest pitmasters in Century City.
Last year, AC Barbeque debuted a 'virtual dining' outpost within the campus kitchen of Mississippi's Jackson State University, and earlier this year, the brand launched a food truck at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
In their Century City restaurant, they're serving sandwiches stuffed with smoked chicken, brisket or pork; smoked-and-fried wings with barbecue ranch; a variety platter; half-racks of St. Louis-style pork ribs; brisket and pulled pork by the pound; banana pudding; sides such as cornbread, mac and cheese, brisket baked beans and more.
To help bring their vision to life, they tapped local pitmaster Burt Bakman of Slab and Trudy's Underground Barbecue. 'Hats off to our chef [Burt Bakman], the driving force behind every smoky bite that comes out of our AC Barbeque kitchen,' the restaurant posted to Instagram last week.
Before its temporary closure, AC Barbeque regularly sold out of items; a manager told The Times that even with their smokers firing 24 hours a day, it's still hard to keep up with the demand for the low-and-slow-cooked barbecue.
Guests filing in for a taste passed under a sign that says 'Welcome to the cookout,' and TV screens displayed menu items as well as photos of Kyles and Anderson. Behind the counter, rows of the restaurateurs' house spice rubs and bottles of barbecue sauces are available for those who want to bring a taste home.
AC Barbeque is located in the Westfield Century City's Dining Terrace, on the second level of the shopping center, at 10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. The restaurant plans to reopen with daily hours of 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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