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Roberto's Taco Shop celebrated 60 years in San Diego
Or is it really a Las Vegas taco shop chain with San Diego roots?
A Chula Vista 24-hour drive-thru location of Roberto's Taco Shop celebrates the holidays.
Before the year is through we should take note of a milestone celebrated in 2024 by San Diego-born restaurant chain Roberto's Taco Shop, celebrating 60 years in business. According to its web site, Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Robledo opened the tortilla stand that would become Roberto's Taco Shop in San Ysidro back in 1964.
The impact of Roberto's is hard to overstate. The family business that once inspired a poetic ode by the late great Larry Himmel long ago spread out all over San Diego, laying a blueprint for local taco shops, walk-up windows, and 24-hour drive-thrus; not to mention an economic model for migrant families. And one among its many shops is always in the discussion over which San Diego eatery invented the California burrito: carne asada and French fries wrapped in a large flour tortilla, usually with sour cream, guacamole, and/or melted cheddar cheese.
As to how many shops, at latest count Roberto's is up to about 80 locations. But that doesn't count all the unofficial spin-offs. As a Reader colleague reported in 2021, an estranged relative operating a splinter Roberto's location in the early 1980s changed two letters on a sign to make it Alberto's, setting a trend where the suffix -berto's has become easy shorthand for San Diego-style taco shops.
Here's the wild thing about those 80 Roberto's Taco Shop locations though—most of them are in Nevada. Roberto's has nearly 60 statewide, which means that, statistically speaking, Nevada Mexican food tastes a lot like San Diego Mexican food. And yes, the Nevada menus do feature California burritos, and I've yet to see evidence of a Nevada burrito (though I expect it would be extra cheesy).
Meanwhile, let's not be dismayed. I'm sure San Diego still leads in the overall number of -berto's named taco shops. And while none of Roberto's 15 San Diego area locations may be as snazzy as the futuristic swooping drive-thru of one of its 40 Las Vegas shops, I have a few favorites.
First is 2206 Carmel Valley Road, next to Torrey Pine State Beach, because it overlooks Los Penasquitos Lagoon. Second is the two-sided drive-thru on Voltaire in Ocean Beach for many quick, post-surf burritos. And best for curb appeal has to be 444 Broadway in Chula Vista, a veritably perfect So Cal fast food shop.
Roberto's Taco Shop at 444 Broadway, Chula Vista
Or, maybe this is all just an excuse for me to eat a California burrito on a short week before Christmas. Roberto's still makes them as large as a grown man's forearm—a comparison frequently proven by photos posted to Yelp and other review sites, replicated here, with the forearm merely implied.
A California burrito, roughly the size of a man's forearm
Here's something you might be interested in.
Roberto's Taco Shop celebrated 60 years in San Diego
Or is it really a Las Vegas taco shop chain with San Diego roots?
Roberto's Taco Shop celebrated 60 years in San Diego
Or is it really a Las Vegas taco shop chain with San Diego roots?
A Chula Vista 24-hour drive-thru location of Roberto's Taco Shop celebrates the holidays.
Before the year is through we should take note of a milestone celebrated in 2024 by San Diego-born restaurant chain Roberto's Taco Shop, celebrating 60 years in business. According to its web site, Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Robledo opened the tortilla stand that would become Roberto's Taco Shop in San Ysidro back in 1964.
The impact of Roberto's is hard to overstate. The family business that once inspired a poetic ode by the late great Larry Himmel long ago spread out all over San Diego, laying a blueprint for local taco shops, walk-up windows, and 24-hour drive-thrus; not to mention an economic model for migrant families. And one among its many shops is always in the discussion over which San Diego eatery invented the California burrito: carne asada and French fries wrapped in a large flour tortilla, usually with sour cream, guacamole, and/or melted cheddar cheese.
As to how many shops, at latest count Roberto's is up to about 80 locations. But that doesn't count all the unofficial spin-offs. As a Reader colleague reported in 2021, an estranged relative operating a splinter Roberto's location in the early 1980s changed two letters on a sign to make it Alberto's, setting a trend where the suffix -berto's has become easy shorthand for San Diego-style taco shops.
Here's the wild thing about those 80 Roberto's Taco Shop locations though—most of them are in Nevada. Roberto's has nearly 60 statewide, which means that, statistically speaking, Nevada Mexican food tastes a lot like San Diego Mexican food. And yes, the Nevada menus do feature California burritos, and I've yet to see evidence of a Nevada burrito (though I expect it would be extra cheesy).
Meanwhile, let's not be dismayed. I'm sure San Diego still leads in the overall number of -berto's named taco shops. And while none of Roberto's 15 San Diego area locations may be as snazzy as the futuristic swooping drive-thru of one of its 40 Las Vegas shops, I have a few favorites.
First is 2206 Carmel Valley Road, next to Torrey Pine State Beach, because it overlooks Los Penasquitos Lagoon. Second is the two-sided drive-thru on Voltaire in Ocean Beach for many quick, post-surf burritos. And best for curb appeal has to be 444 Broadway in Chula Vista, a veritably perfect So Cal fast food shop.
Roberto's Taco Shop at 444 Broadway, Chula Vista
Or, maybe this is all just an excuse for me to eat a California burrito on a short week before Christmas. Roberto's still makes them as large as a grown man's forearm—a comparison frequently proven by photos posted to Yelp and other review sites, replicated here, with the forearm merely implied.
A California burrito, roughly the size of a man's forearm