Earlier this month, the Vergara family closed the book on Barroco Grill, shutting down the final location on Larchmere Boulevard. Earlier this year, Carlos and Juan – father-and-son – announced the sudden closures of the original Barroco restaurant in Lakewood as well as a newer one at Crocker Park in Westlake. They also sold Hola Tacos and Amazonia, both in Lakewood, to former employees.
Presently, the family operates La Pecora, a wood-fired pizza bar, on Larchmere in a small space connected to the former Barroco Grill eatery. It is a concept that the family loves and excels at. Pizza will also be at the heart of a new restaurant presently taking shape in the former home of the original Barroco in Lakewood.
“Barroco took so much out of us – in a good way but also as a family,” Juan explains. “Barroco was very labor intensive and many of the products are unique that we had to import. I realized that it was no longer sustainable to keep the same consistency. La Pecora, we quickly realized, is more manageable for us. Pizza is something that we can focus on instead of focusing on 50 different items made from scratch.”
Vergara has been putting his creative talents to work at the old Barroco spot in Birdtown. It has been a bittersweet process, he says.
“One of the biggest challenges is the de-Barroco-fying, as I call it, taking everything away that would remind guests of Barroco and transport them over to our new concept. In a sense, it’s a lot of lessons learned, good and bad.”
Vergara says that Juan’s Pizza will go in another direction from La Pecora, but he’s not yet sure where that path will lead him.
“We’ve been perfecting the dough process here at La Pecora and this concept in Lakewood allows us to take a lot of those skills, and a lot of that knowledge, and apply it to something fun,” he explains. “It’s not going to be a Neapolitan pizza shop. I want to do something a little out of the ordinary, like I usually do with all of my concepts. I don’t want to give people the chance to say it’s ‘just another pizza shop.’”
Whatever style he lands on, Vergara will make the dough from scratch. That pizza will be joined by other foods, but those, too, have yet to be nailed down.
“The kitchen was made for a Latin steakhouse, so I’m sure guests will expect to have some of that built into menu as well,” he says.
In addition to the dining room and patio, guests can opt to sit at the pizza counter, where they will have a front-row seat to all the pizza-making action.
“We want guests involved in the process and to be able to see what we’re doing,” Vergara adds. “Obviously, the dynamic will be a little bit different from La Pecora because it isn’t wood-fired but it will be more fun.”
Vergara describes the vibe as family friendly during the day but a little “spicy” come evening.
Juan’s Pizza is expected to open in fall.
Across town, the former Barroco on Larchmere is also undergoing a makeover. The goal is to create an extension of La Pecora that offers more seating, more food options and a faster-paced environment. In addition to pizza, there will be pasta and more.
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