Family pride and dedication keep Roberto’s Taco Shops going and growing and will be on display soon at their new Point Loma location.
The Mexican eatery is named for Roberto Robledo who, along with his wife Dolores, started out supplying tortillas to stores and restaurants from their San Ysidro tortilla factory in 1964. Soon after opening their tortilla factory, the couple expanded their venture opening a traditional-style taco shop. Nearly 60 years later, there are now 70 Roberto’s Taco Shops throughout California and Nevada, including more than a dozen in San Diego County, offering traditional Mexican food.
The family-owned and -operated business is now into its third generation with granddaughter Jessica De La Rosa running Roberto’s North Park location. She will also be in charge of their new 1155 Scott St. site (formerly Loma Bonita), expected to open in mid-November.
De La Rosa said her family’s culinary tradition grew from her grandmother making bean burritos to feed employees. “That’s just where it started, they (burritos) were really good, which prompted my grandfather to start selling them,” Jessica said adding it has taken about eight months to remodel their latest Point Loma location, which is going through final inspections.
“Everything inside is new, and the outside got a complete facelift,” she said. “We hired a general contractor and an architect.”
“We pretty much took the inside down to the studs and started over,” noted Jessica’s husband Michael De La Rosa.
What sets Roberto’s apart from similar eateries?
“The promise of quality and the consistency, and flavor, of the food, as well as a lot of family pride,” answered Michael. He added, “Roberto’s has stood the test of time. We’re one of the originals (taco shops) where you can get a great meal at a fair price that is quality and tastes good.”
Of Roberto’s cuisine, Jessica said: “Our shop is very unique because we don’t use pre-cut meats or anything else. Everything is fresh and we cut everything ourselves daily.”
Of their menu, Jessica noted it is a lot of traditional items like rolled tacos, chilaquiles, surf and turf, breakfast burritos, and fries with carne asada or another meat of choice.
The Point Loma Roberto’s will be open initially from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. There will be no drive-thru. There will be both indoor dining and outdoor patio seating.
“It is a very quaint location and we’ve tried hard to fit in with the community with our design and color scheme,” Michael said.
“We wanted it to be a modern taco shop with a modern look,” noted Jessica adding, “We wanted to make sure we were good neighbors, fitting in with the aesthetics of the community.”
What’s it like to own and operate your Mexican restaurant?
“I love the business,” concluded Jessica adding, “We’re hoping to get involved and be part of the Point Loma community. We want the neighborhood to enjoy good Mexican food.”
ROBERTO’S TACO SHOP
Where: 1155 Scott St.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
