Ay Caramba to Close
Ed Fuentes
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — After six years, Issac Ibarlucea is set to close Ay Caramba, the Arts District Mexican Cafe that has done double duty as a general store since February 2009. Ibarlucea cites a slowdown in business as the reason for the closure. The last day to dine will be Wednesday, March 17th, from 8am to 8pm.
In the meantime, everything is for sale, including dishes and kitchen appliances. Purchased inventory can be picked up on Saturday, March 20.
Ay Caramba is in adjoining spaces that once held Soul Folks cafe, and the briefly active Deep River Gallery on the ground floor of the American Hotel. Owned by Richard Meruelo, the Hewitt side of the building housed the space that was once Al's Bar.
The message outside the Traction Ave restaurant also says "Thanks you to all our loyal customers and friends. It's been a good run."
ndevelopment (@ndevelopment) on March 09, 2010, at 06:37PM – #1
soul folks should re-open there...dont think the hollywood location worked out for them.
Dave Bullock (@eecue) on March 09, 2010, at 07:07PM – #2
Bummer about that, but they were not well received on yelp, which is usually a pretty good (bad?) indicator.
Ed Fuentes on March 09, 2010, at 11:30PM – #3
Items were cooked with certain oils to make it healthier, hence the lighter taste that threw people off. The monster nachos were good, and I had fun asking Issac for custom burritos. He was glad to make one to order.
Guest on March 10, 2010, at 09:26AM – #4
I liked Issac's "homestyle/healthy" cooking. Simple and great food. Aye Caramba will be missed in the hood. Good luck with whatever your do in the future Issac. HollenArt will miss you at lunch time.