La Brea Bakery abruptly closes at Downtown Disney after two decades

La Brea Bakery is closing its Downtown Disney location after more than two decades of operation as one of the original businesses at the outdoor shopping mall next to Disneyland.

The last day of operation for La Brea Bakery at Downtown Disney will be Monday, Jan. 9 according to a Facebook post from the company.

“Aspire Bakeries has made the difficult decision to permanently close La Brea Bakery Cafe,” according to a company memo posted to Facebook. “While this is the right move for our business, decisions that impact our people are never easy to make.”

La Brea Bakery is also closing its flagship Los Angeles store on La Brea Avenue on Monday after 34 years and exiting the restaurant business.

Meetings were held at both the Downtown Disney and Los Angeles locations on Monday to announce the closures that are effective immediately, according to the Aspire Bakeries memo.

La Brea Bakery was one of the original businesses when Downtown Disney opened in 2001 along with Disney California Adventure.

A hiring event was scheduled for Monday to help impacted La Brea Bakery employees in Anaheim find new positions at Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Downtown Disney, according to the Aspire memo.

Disney will make an announcement on Monday about a new tenant and plans for the La Brea Bakery space at Downtown Disney, according to Aspire Bakeries representatives.

The leading possibilities include either an Earl of Sandwich or Porto’s pop-up location. An Earl of Sandwich pop-up was promised when the Downtown Disney location closed in early 2022. A new Porto’s Bakery & Eatery serving Cuban sweets and treats is coming to Downtown Disney as part of the outdoor shopping center’s latest renovation.

La Brea Bakery will continue to provide baked goods and artisan breads to grocery stores and restaurants.

Franchise La Brea Bakery locations in the Reno International Airport in Nevada and JFK Airport in New York will remain open.