Roberto's Taco Shop facts for kids

Roberto's Taco Shop is a popular chain of Mexican restaurants. You can find them mostly in California and Nevada. The company started in 1964 in San Ysidro, San Diego. It was founded by Roberto Robledo and his wife, Dolores. By 2020, there were 77 Roberto's locations.

The Story of Roberto's Taco Shop

How It All Began

Roberto's Taco Shop was started by Roberto Robledo (who lived from 1928 to 1999) and his wife Dolores (1930–2020). They moved to California from Mexico in the 1950s. They had a big family with 13 children. Roberto worked very hard, often having two or three jobs, to support them all.

In the early 1960s, Roberto bought a machine to make tortillas. He also got two houses next to each other in San Ysidro, San Diego. One house was for his family. The other became a place to make and sell tortillas, called a tortilleria. This opened in 1964. The family sold fresh tortillas to people. They also delivered them to restaurants and even to the United States Border Patrol. The idea for a restaurant came when Border Patrol agents asked Dolores if she could also provide rice and beans with the tortillas.

The first Roberto's restaurant, located in National City, California (2018)

Growing the Business

The Robledo family bought four restaurants in the 1960s. They kept the original names at first. Roberto's first restaurant, La Lomita, used his wife's special recipes. All these new places served Mexican food. Around 1970, they bought a fifth restaurant that used to sell hamburgers. Dolores suggested they rename all five restaurants to Roberto's Taco Shop, after her husband. This made Roberto's one of the first taco chains in the United States!

The older Robledo children helped run the family business. As they grew up, each child took over a restaurant. The business is still owned by the Robledo family. They usually don't sell franchises to people outside the family.

Some of Roberto's relatives also opened their own Mexican restaurants. These places often used names like "Alberto's" or other names ending in "berto." This happened because more family and friends came to the United States from the Robledos' home state in Mexico.

Expanding Across States

Roberto's Taco Shop became very popular in San Diego by the mid-1970s. In 1990, Roberto Robledo moved to the Las Vegas Valley and opened the first Roberto's there. Just like in San Diego, Roberto's became a favorite spot in Las Vegas.

The chain also expanded to Miami, Florida, in 1999. Roberto Robledo passed away a month later. At that time, Roberto's had 60 locations. This included 30 in San Diego County and 30 in Nevada and Miami. In 2009, the Miami locations closed because they were too far away to manage easily.

By 2014, there were 48 Roberto's locations in and around Las Vegas. In 2016, Roberto's opened its first location in northern Nevada, in Reno. The family had wanted to open a Reno location for years because many customers asked for one. Dolores Robledo passed away in July 2020. At that time, the chain had 77 locations, with over 50 in southern Nevada. Soon after, Roberto's also opened a restaurant in Texas. Most Roberto's locations are open 24 hours a day, every day. They are very popular, especially with people looking for late-night food in Las Vegas!

Yummy Food!

Roberto's sells many delicious Mexican food items. You can find tacos, rice, and beans. Some of their most popular items are taquitos and bean burritos. They also have carne asada fries and burritos. Roberto's is sometimes given credit for creating the California burrito. This popular burrito is packed with French fries! Their burritos are known for being very large.

People really love Roberto's food. The Miami New Times newspaper named Roberto's the best 24-hour taco shop in Miami in 2003. Two years later, they won for best tacos. Readers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal have also voted Roberto's for best tacos many times. In 2016, they won for "Best Late Night Eats." The famous chef Guy Fieri has even praised their carne asada burrito!