La Brea closed for good?

[Lisa24jks]

And that didn't take long... Earl of Sandwich returns in February:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...strict-updates/?CMP=SOC-DPFY23Q2wo0105230014A

I know that will make a lot of people happy. (I like Earl of Sandwich, but I live in a city with locations very close to me so I can go whenever I want, and don't need to go at Disney. But I'm happy for all of the Earl fans!)

 

[BrianL]

And that didn't take long... Earl of Sandwich returns in February:

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...strict-updates/?CMP=SOC-DPFY23Q2wo0105230014A

I know that will make a lot of people happy. (I like Earl of Sandwich, but I live in a city with locations very close to me so I can go whenever I want, and don't need to go at Disney. But I'm happy for all of the Earl fans!)

And it's EARL! Though it did say temporary location at LaBrea, so maybe they are planning something bigger. They mentioned table service at "Earl of Sandwich Tavern" so that's interesting. I don't care though, - I love the Earl and it's Holiday Turkey Sandwich time!

 

[Lisa24jks]

And it's EARL! Though it did say temporary location at LaBrea, so maybe they are planning something bigger. They mentioned table service at "Earl of Sandwich Tavern" so that's interesting. I don't care though, - I love the Earl and it's Holiday Turkey Sandwich time!

Yeah, it goes on to say that Porto's will be building over La Brea eventually. So I'm guessing once that is finalized, Earl will close again and then probably pop up somewhere else in DTD. It's so popular, so I assume it will get a permanent spot again once the DTD reno is over.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, it goes on to say that Porto's will be building over La Brea eventually. So I'm guessing once that is finalized, Earl will close again and then probably pop up somewhere else in DTD. It's so popular, so I assume it will get a permanent spot again once the DTD reno is over.

As long as they stick around. Disney can't keep juggling them around forever though.

 

[DLgal]

Yeah, it goes on to say that Porto's will be building over La Brea eventually. So I'm guessing once that is finalized, Earl will close again and then probably pop up somewhere else in DTD. It's so popular, so I assume it will get a permanent spot again once the DTD reno is over.

Portos is taking over the LaBrea spot? Yikes. That place is small. I guess Portos won't actually be cooking or baking much on-site then. That's a a shame. Most Portos locations are huge.

Edit. Nevermind. Seems they are going to demo La Brea building and construct something new.

 

[Kender]

Portos is taking over the LaBrea spot? Yikes. That place is small. I guess Portos won't actually be cooking or baking much on-site then. That's a a shame. Most Portos locations are huge.

It says in the article linked the building will get bulldozed and rebuilt on the footprint. Not that they will go into the existing building.

 

[DLgal]

It says in the article linked the building will get bulldozed and rebuilt on the footprint. Not that they will go into the existing building.

Yeah, I missed that the first time around.

 

[Kender]

Yeah, I missed that the first time around.

There was a lot of info to digest in it with the suddenness of all of this so understandable

Now just a question of when and will the construction at the other end be complete before then or run concurrently

 

[DLgal]

There was a lot of info to digest in it with the suddenness of all of this so understandable

Now just a question of when and will the construction at the other end be complete before then or run concurrently

That new construction on the other end is not slated to be complete until 2025. They recently filed permits, but still have to wait for those to be approved before they begin construction. I'm guessing we will be in for a long couple years of temporary locations, closures and construction.

 

[Kender]

That new construction on the other end is not slated to be complete until 2025. They recently filed permits, but still have to wait for those to be approved before they begin construction. I'm guessing we will be in for a long couple years of temporary locations, closures and construction.

Still leaves the same question, though, that can't be answered yet: concurrently or wait until the in progress project is done/at least mostly done. I could see Disney doing either scenario. But we'll see what happens

Going to be a long next couple years if not few years

 

[DLgal]

Still leaves the same question, though, that can't be answered yet: concurrently or wait until the in progress project is done/at least mostly done. I could see Disney doing either scenario. But we'll see what happens

Going to be a long next couple years if not few years

If I had to guess, Earl in La Brea spot until mid to late 2023, when La Brea site demo begins. I suspect Disney will have Earl set up shop in a temp location while construction finishes up on the other end. Rumor is that Earl will have a dedicated spot over there.

 

[nalabear]

Earl to mid-late 2023
Demo
Future Porto's (this gonna be small!)

--well still have the Buena Park Porto's only 10minutes away and mobile ordering there. Probably would be faster than DTD unless they have service to VGC

 

[Kender]

If I had to guess, Earl in La Brea spot until mid to late 2023, when La Brea site demo begins. I suspect Disney will have Earl set up shop in a temp location while construction finishes up on the other end. Rumor is that Earl will have a dedicated spot over there.

That's been my understanding of the future EOS location rumor (prior to today's crazy): that it would be part of the other end once construction completes.

There was also that "there will be an EOS pop up later in 2022" chatter that happened back in April. That never happened . So I won't be holding my breath on a new temp location if a new permanent one isn't ready yet by the time they're ready to start Porto's construction.

I'd be happy if they could just let EOS chill for at least a year before uprooting them again. But also not holding my breath on that one either . I just selfishly want them still around during DLR Half Marathon Weekend next year.

 

[nalabear]

Just did quick measurements: Porto's Buena: 150ftx150 including their onsite bakery - for the dining/service area it's an L shape of about 120' in each direction.

La Brea - if you take the entire outside seating area too: ~200ft x 50ft. So you can do a lot of counter bakery and seating along; but the baking will need to be off-site if you want any size to it.

I can imagine something like the retail 85degrees with a significantly downsized selection and baking oven onsite (prep offsite).

 

[bcla]

Isn’t the new Porto’s concept going there? La Brea Bakery was great when Nancy Silverton was at the helm. It had its hey-day a long time ago. Ready for a new concept.

Probably too small a location, although I've been the Glendale location that's relatively small. I'm thinking that's probably going to be at the former ESPNZone building.

I never went to La Brea because they were way overpriced. My only experience with them was their breads at Costco. Even saw that a few times up in Northern California, but not recently.

 

[bcla]

Never mind my previous comment on where I thought Porto's might be located.

 

[DizMe]

Probably too small a location, although I've been the Glendale location that's relatively small. I'm thinking that's probably going to be at the former ESPNZone building.

I never went to La Brea because they were way overpriced. My only experience with them was their breads at Costco. Even saw that a few times up in Northern California, but not recently.

I didn't find them overpriced for a decent sit-down restaurant that was relatively easy to get into. I'm not big on QS so I enjoyed La Brea, especially for breakfast, though the quality declined drastically post-covid. It had improved significantly last time I went (Dec 2022). I have only been to Porto's once, and all I got was pastry so I don't really know what to expect. What I experienced was a very long line with no table service, but maybe there's an option for that?

 

[bcla]

I didn't find them overpriced for a decent sit-down restaurant that was relatively easy to get into. I'm not big on QS so I enjoyed La Brea, especially for breakfast, though the quality declined drastically post-covid. It had improved significantly last time I went (Dec 2022). I have only been to Porto's once, and all I got was pastry so I don't really know what to expect. What I experienced was a very long line with no table service, but maybe there's an option for that?

If one orders a sandwich or other entree at Porto's, those come from the kitchen. They hand over a restaurant pager to place on a table and someone will find it and bring those items over when ready.

A Cubano (with plantain chips) at Porto's is currently $7.49 + tax, and even then the price has gone up. Not sure if there's going to be a "Disney tax" though. The comp I'm thinking of is Universal CityWalk in LA, where I thought about going to Taco Bell except that most prices were up to double that of typical locations. I've been to locations where they had a price premium, but it was never that much. I'm hoping that Porto's says no to that - at least not anything more than an average 25% price premium. The prices are still up even though it's closed, and a turkey panini at La Brea was $22.50.

 

[bcla]

Just did quick measurements: Porto's Buena: 150ftx150 including their onsite bakery - for the dining/service area it's an L shape of about 120' in each direction.

La Brea - if you take the entire outside seating area too: ~200ft x 50ft. So you can do a lot of counter bakery and seating along; but the baking will need to be off-site if you want any size to it.

I can imagine something like the retail 85degrees with a significantly downsized selection and baking oven onsite (prep offsite).

I think that's their largest location with ample parking. But they have smaller locations like the one in downtown Glendale which is pretty small. My first experience was at Buena Park, and this seemed really small in comparison.

 

[DLgal]

I didn't find them overpriced for a decent sit-down restaurant that was relatively easy to get into. I'm not big on QS so I enjoyed La Brea, especially for breakfast, though the quality declined drastically post-covid. It had improved significantly last time I went (Dec 2022). I have only been to Porto's once, and all I got was pastry so I don't really know what to expect. What I experienced was a very long line with no table service, but maybe there's an option for that?

Portos has 2 counters, a pastry only counter and a "cafe" counter where you can order and pick up hot meals. They have several hot and cold sandwiches as well as "platters" with slow roasted pork, grilled chicken breast, or ropa vieja, each served with a side of rice and black beans and sweet fried plantains. They also have all the hot items like empanadas, potato balls, croquettes, etc. In addition, the Buena Park location (and probably some others) has a third counter for coffee drinks and fresh squeezed juices.