Beloved Alhambra restaurants with great quality, fresh ingredients and delicious food are struggling to remain open. They’re familiar community favorites, but the cost of operating a business in Southern California has skyrocketed and strained local small businesses.
Burnt Belly is the latest casualty of the economy. Established in 2021, it provided fresh barbeque made daily until its closing three years later, in June 2024. First making a name for itself at Blossom Market Food Hall, Burnt Belly was so popular they opened their own brick and mortar store on Fremont Avenue in 2023.
By nature of its handcrafted barbeque, Burnt Belly had a limited stock that had to be prepared days in advance. With its unique, Korean-inspired twist on traditional American smoked barbecue, Burnt Belly quickly became an icon of the diversity and ingenuity of Alhambra’s incomparable restaurant scene. Unfortunately, the cost of running a restaurant proved to be too high to maintain both its good food and fair prices.
Here in Southern California, restaurants have access to the best ingredients, freshest produce, and a thriving foodie culture. But with rising costs of business and external pressures from delivery app fees to government regulations, it’s more important than ever to get out and support local restaurants.
Check out Around Alhambra’s June 2024 issue to find a list of new restaurants and other small businesses recently opened and opening soon in Alhambra, or peruse July and August’s Restaurants of the Week at AlhambraEats.com.
