Wild Blue Barbecue shutting its doors
Wild Blue Barbecue owner and pitmaster Abraham Avila is throwing in the towel. The acclaimed restaurant will close Feb. 4.
Despite repeatedly making the list of Texas Monthly "Top 50 Barbecue Joints" and being invited in 2011 and 2010 to the exclusive Texas Monthly Barbecue Festival in Austin, business has not been consistent enough to keep going, said Avila. He opened the restaurant on SH 100 between U.S. Expressway 77/83 and Los Fresnos in 2005. While some months have been strong, others have been poor, Avila said.
"Making very little is not enough," he said.
Avila, a trained chef who graduated from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh, said he’s got plans for a new restaurant in Brownsville but offered few specifics. He said he also hopes to reopen Wild Blue in a year or so — in Brownsville. Despite the disappointment of having to close in Los Fresnos, it’s been worth it, Avila said.
"I don’t regret it," he said. "I met some of my dearest friends who I never would have met if I hadn’t had that restaurant."
