Roberto's Taco Shop
Roberto's Taco Shop is a family-owned Mexican quick-service restaurant chain concentrated in Southern California and Nevada.
Last updated August 25, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Roberto's Taco Shop is a family-owned chain of Mexican quick-service restaurants operating primarily in Southern California and Nevada. The business traces its origin to San Ysidro, San Diego, where Roberto Robledo and his wife, Dolores, established a small tortilla-making operation in 1964. The couple had immigrated from Mexico to California during the 1950s and built the business around fresh tortillas, initially selling directly to local customers and delivering tortillas to restaurants and nearby United States Border Patrol personnel. The restaurant concept emerged from those early deliveries. After being asked whether she could provide rice and beans along with tortillas, Dolores helped develop the idea of a Mexican restaurant serving inexpensive, filling food. During the 1960s, the family acquired several existing restaurants, including La Lomita and a hamburger restaurant known as Jesse's. Around 1970, five locations were renamed Roberto's Taco Shop, creating one of the earliest recognizable taco-shop chains in the United States. The Robledos' children became involved in operations, and the family retained ownership of individual restaurants and the broader brand. Public franchising has generally not been a central part of the company's model. Roberto's became particularly associated with San Diego's Mexican-American food culture during the 1970s. Its menu emphasized tacos, burritos, rice and beans, taquitos, and other high-volume, relatively low-cost dishes. The chain is also frequently associated with the California burrito, a large burrito containing French fries, carne asada, and other fillings. Large portions, late-night availability, and 24-hour operations at many sites have helped establish the brand as a destination for customers seeking food after nightlife or during overnight work hours. The company's family history also influenced the development of a broader group of southwestern taco-shop names ending in “-berto's.” In the mid-1970s, a restaurant rented to relatives was renamed Alberto's following a disagreement over operating practices. Relatives, acquaintances, and later restaurant operators subsequently created other businesses using similar naming patterns. These businesses are related through family and regional history, but they are not all part of Roberto's Taco Shop itself. Roberto Robledo moved to the Las Vegas Valley in 1990 and opened the first Roberto's location there. Nevada eventually became one of the chain's most important markets, with a large concentration in the Las Vegas area. The brand also briefly operated in the Miami area after opening a Hialeah location in 1999, but those restaurants closed in 2009 because the distance from the company's other operations made them difficult to manage. Expansion later continued in California and Nevada, including a first northern Nevada location in Reno in 2016 and a Sparks location in 2020. Within the following two years, the company also opened a location in Texas. Roberto Robledo died in 1999, one month after the Hialeah opening, and Dolores Robledo died in 2020. The business remained family owned. In 2020, the chain was reported to have 77 locations, more than 50 of them in Southern Nevada. Roberto's is known for a straightforward, regional positioning rather than a nationally standardized fast-food identity: generous Mexican-American meals, familiar recipes, extended hours, and strong local recognition. Its restaurants have received reader and critic recognition in Miami and Las Vegas, including awards for tacos and late-night food. The chain remains an active regional restaurant brand, although detailed corporate ownership, executive, financial, and store-level information is not broadly disclosed.
History
Roberto's Taco Shop began as a tortilla business in San Ysidro, San Diego, in 1964. Roberto Robledo purchased a tortilla-making machine for $30 and converted an adjacent house into a small tortilleria, while the family lived in the neighboring house. Roberto and Dolores sold tortillas to the public and delivered them to local restaurants and Border Patrol personnel. A request for rice and beans to accompany the tortillas encouraged Dolores to develop a restaurant concept. The family acquired several Mexican restaurants during the 1960s. One early acquisition was La Lomita, which used Dolores's recipes. Around 1970, the Robledos bought a former hamburger restaurant called Jesse's and renamed five restaurants Roberto's Taco Shop. Their children helped operate the growing business, and later took responsibility for individual locations. This family structure remained central to the brand, which generally did not rely on broad public franchising. The chain grew in San Diego during the 1970s. A mid-decade disagreement with relatives who rented one of the restaurants led those relatives to rename their business Alberto's. That episode contributed to the spread of southwestern restaurants using variations of the “-berto's” name, many of which were connected through family relationships or shared regional origins but were not necessarily controlled by Roberto's Taco Shop. In 1979, Roberto and Dolores separated while remaining friends and business partners. Roberto moved to the Las Vegas Valley in 1990 and opened the first Roberto's restaurant there. The Las Vegas market became a major center of the chain, alongside San Diego. A Hialeah, Florida, restaurant opened in May 1999, creating a short-lived Miami-area presence. Roberto Robledo died the following month. At that time, the chain had approximately 60 locations across San Diego County, Nevada, and Miami. The company later expanded in California, including several communities added or developed around 2007, and considered further growth in Orange and Imperial counties. By 2014, it had 48 locations in and near Las Vegas, including Mesquite. Reno became the chain's first northern Nevada market in 2016, following years of customer requests. The Miami locations closed in 2009 because they were geographically separated from the company's main operating base. Dolores Robledo died in July 2020. That year, the chain was reported to have 77 locations, with more than 50 in Southern Nevada. An opening in Sparks, Nevada, followed in August 2020. The company subsequently extended its footprint into Texas. Roberto's restaurants are particularly known for all-day or 24-hour operation, large portions, tacos, burritos, rice and beans, taquitos, carne asada fries, and the California burrito. The brand remains a privately held, family-associated regional restaurant chain.
- 2022
Texas expansion reported
[1]The chain was reported to have opened a Texas location within two years of its Sparks opening.
- 2020
Sparks location opened and chain reported 77 locations
[1]The Sparks restaurant became the chain's third northern Nevada location. The company was also reported to have 77 locations nationwide, including more than 50 in Southern Nevada.
- 2016
First northern Nevada restaurant opened
[1]Roberto's opened its first northern Nevada location in Reno after years of customer requests.
- 2014
Las Vegas-area network reached 48 locations
[1]The chain was reported to have 48 locations in and near Las Vegas, including a restaurant in Mesquite, Nevada.
- 2009
Miami locations closed
[1]The chain withdrew from Miami because the geographically distant locations were difficult to manage from its principal operating regions.
- 1999
Miami-area expansion and founder's death
[1]A Hialeah, Florida, restaurant opened in May; Roberto Robledo died one month later.
- 1990
Expansion into the Las Vegas Valley
[1]Roberto Robledo opened the first Roberto's location in the Las Vegas Valley, which became a major market for the chain.
- 1975
Family-linked “-berto's” restaurant lineage began
[1]A dispute with relatives operating a rented location resulted in the restaurant being renamed Alberto's, contributing to a wider family-linked naming tradition in the Southwest.
- 1970
Restaurants renamed Roberto's Taco Shop
[1]After acquiring several restaurants, the Robledos consolidated five locations under the Roberto's Taco Shop name.
- 1964
Tortilleria established in San Ysidro
[1]Roberto and Dolores Robledo opened a small tortilla-making business in San Ysidro, San Diego, establishing the foundation of the later restaurant chain.
Products and positioning
A family-owned, regional Mexican quick-service chain known for large portions, Mexican-American comfort food, late-night service, and strong local visibility in San Diego and the Las Vegas Valley.
Mexican quick-service food
Tacos
Tacos are a core menu category and a major part of the brand's regional identity. Roberto's has received repeated local recognition for its tacos, particularly in the Las Vegas market.
Mexican quick-service food
Burritos
Roberto's serves substantial burritos including bean burritos, carne asada burritos, and the California burrito. The California version typically combines meat and other fillings with French fries and is strongly associated with San Diego-style Mexican-American food.
Mexican-American quick-service food
Carne asada fries
Carne asada fries are a prominent loaded-fries offering combining French fries with carne asada and Mexican-style toppings. The dish fits the chain's emphasis on generous, filling late-night meals.
Mexican quick-service food
Taquitos
Taquitos are among the chain's frequently identified popular items and represent a smaller, highly portable menu format suited to quick-service and late-night customers.
Side dishes · 1964
Rice and beans
Rice and beans were central to the restaurant concept's origin. Dolores Robledo developed the idea of serving them with the family's tortillas after local customers requested a more complete meal.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/robertos-taco-shop · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled