Tex-Mex restaurant Justin Queso has left the building on The Sunset Strip. According to a source the building was sold and the Mexican restaurant located at 8917 W. Sunset Boulevard has closed for good after operating in West Hollywood since the Spring of 2021. The space previously held a restaurant named Gorge.
The restaurant was co-owned by actor and restaurateur Shane West (“A Walk to Remember”, “What We Do is Secret”, “ER”), he said that even though he’s from Louisiana, he has family members from Texas and he wanted to bring that Tex-Mex flavor to the City of West Hollywood, Hollywood and the greater Los Angeles area.
There is no word yet on the restaurant’s closure via their social media platforms and according to their website, they are still open for business and offering discount specials. However, Opentable announces that they’re permanently closed when customers try to make a reservation. The phone also goes to voicemail after several rings, but the mailbox is full.
Although there is no sign announcing their closure, the windows and doors are covered with brown paper. According to a source the manager locked the doors on Tuesday. The space is in escrow and he had no information on who it was sold to.
The 3,800 square foot restaurant was known for offering a variety of Texas-inspired dishes, from puffy tacos with airy, crispy shells like those found at Bar Ama in Downtown LA and Arturo’s in Whittier, to fajitas, enchilada, house-smoked brisket, and (naturally) four different kinds of queso. The restaurant also offered a full bar to offer margaritas and other tequila cocktails, plus craft beer and wine.
the restaurant offered indoor and outdoor seating primarily along the front sidewalk. there was a also a large back patio.
A video submitted by a WEHO TIMES readers shows the empty front patio with the glass windows all covered up. The short clip ends with the person saying, “No more tacos…”
I live up the hill in the neighborhood behind this restaurant. When we go out, we never go to that immediate area. It is simply my perspective, but the “rock bars“, Roxy, rainbow room, and the whiskey bring an unsavory demographic of people (not all but a lot). People who are paying $3.5 million+ for an home in the neighborhood simply don’t want to be around that. Until this area gets cleaned up and starts to actually cater to the demographic of people who live in the neighborhood, businesses are going to keep closing.
Maybe you should have moved to Brentwood or the Palisades. So you won’t be bothered by unsavory people.
People paying $3.5 million for a home need to do some research!
Good Call! Don’t move to the heart of West Hollywood if can’t handle the noise!
A new restaurant is opening in this space in a few months.
This place was just awful. Surprised it lasted this long. Also, why did they get block the sidewalk and take parking spaces?
In addition to the Justin Queso’s’s closure, Chase Bank on Sunset and Larabee is now also closed, as is the Sunset Deli, which used to have great sandwiches.
I keep reading that there are many new businesses opening in West Hollywood, but how long will they last is the question! With the high taxes, high rents, the highest minimum wage in the country, paid vacation and paid sick leave for part time workers, how long will the new endeavors be able to stay in business in West Hollywood?
That is crazy Chase is closing down. We used to have that location and Crescent/Sunset location. But I think it’s part of a greater trend of tens of thousands of branches closing since 2019.
Not crazy, just a business decision. With 99% of banking now able to done online or through an ATM, no need for brick and mortar branches.
I’ve never even heard of this place till today that sad that they’re closing
You didn’t miss anything. Place was awful.
This is the third business this week that we’ve lost. Our city is in decline, that is undeniable. The city council is to blame. Vote them out.
People that STILL support Shyne, Erickson and Byers are like the people on the Titanic that refuse to put on a life jacket ’cause the ship ain’t gonna sink. LOL.