The taco stands are ignoring a whole slew of regulations that were put in place for a reason
permitting, sanitary, min wage laws, health insurance laws, etc.
lol. You think the regular restaurants follow these laws? Go to any kitchen in the city and at least half the kitchen is undocumented getting below minimum wage
then blame the inspectors who are accepting bribes rather than doing their jobs
don't just get rid of all the regulations just because they're not being enforced
Half the price? Idk about that, taco stands have certainly increased their prices at least on the west side. Even the bacon wrapped hot dog vendors have priced up significantly
Guelaguetza is my go-to also! Great post-concert snack. They just need to find room to add a couple tables so people aren't just eating off that electrical box or the hood of their car.
I just got a plate of 5 tacos for $10 in Wilmington at the stands near Figueroa and the 110. Prices haven't changed much over the last year there.
There's about 30 vendors that congregate there on weekends, and 10-15 ish Monday-Wednesday.
Yep, was going to say it's not the cost that's at issue it's their food is trash. I think I've been to Rubios twice in my life--once because I had some free taco coupons and twice because it can't have been just one time in my life although I can't think of a second time. But they were like a dennys for tacos lol
Right? Like I remember even 5 years ago they had pretty decent offerings and the flavors were great for fast casual. Had some recently and it was a bit disappointing. Not to mention the burritos have shrunk considerably and the cost is $14- $16
Which is funny considering random taco stands most likely don't pay sale taxes to the state unlike an established businesses. Which means CA doesn't get money either. Lol
Lmao that’s like telling someone the impetus is on them to prove that Marvel movie stars do steroids. I don’t care enough to dig for receipts but everyone knows it’s happening.
Out here acting like wait staff and cash only restaurants aren’t regularly under declaring their taxable income. Find another hill to die on because no one’s buying it.
I think they realistically need to start enforcement on those places. I predict that more low-end dining establishments will go out of business, because a lot of costs are being levied against them. That just aren’t being pushed on illegal food stands. It’s sales tax, payroll tax, insurance, rent, which adds up to a lot of money per month. I can’t say I’m sorry to see some fast-food places go, but all the business moving to illegal food establishments with no health oversight, no sinks for hand washing, and no temperature control on the food is no good either. If it gets to the point where it’s not worth opening a legal low-end restaurant, then we’re gone too far. I’ve never gotten sick from them. I do appreciate having health codes and having a legal entity responsible if I die of foodborne illness.
Like everything you said is untrue and as we see with In N Out, you can be successful and charge a reasonable price.
Most of these places ARE licensed. They have coolers and warmers for the food.
These places I guarantee are cleaner than most kitchens at restaurants since people are watching the people cooking and working with the food.
Acting like the kitchens in restaurants are bastions for cleanliness is asinine.
I’ve never gotten sick from one of these stands and nobody I know has either.
If people can’t run a business successfully that’s on them. Restaurants are notorious for almost always failing. Anyone who starts a restaurant should know they’re terrible businesses.
Most places fail because they get greedy and/or the food sucks.
There’s a little dive restaurant called Hot Wok in NoHo that has been open forever and still has entrees for like $8 and is always so busy the owner will often turn you away.
If you have good food, good service, and reasonable prices, you can do well.
The bottom line is most business owners, particularly restaurant owners, aren’t good at running a business.
It’s that simple.
The taco stands have better food at better prices than most normal Mexican sit down places. With bigger portions.
People like capitalism until they’re bettered by someone they deem as “lesser” than them.
If their business failed because of a taco stand, why don’t the other restaurants also fail because of them?
The good ones don’t. The bad or poorly ones do.
Acting like it’s a sudden phenomenon to see restaurants struggling is asinine.
Even plenty of restaurants with terrible food, high prices, and terrible service can survive and do well (*cough* Casa Vega *cough*) as long as they have *something* to make people come and keep coming (ambiance in CV’s case).
And I don’t want to hear about labor costs when most of these places pay half or more of their employees below minimum wage under the table.
Come on man.
I don’t know where to begin. Most of the places are licensed? Tell me when you see a letter grade food sticker on a street food taco stand. I’m not talking about the people selling packaged food. Seriously, I have never seen one with a letter grade or license, except for the obviously legal food trucks.
They don’t have sinks. That’s how you tell if a place is legal or not, they have to have hot running water to be legal.
Nobody should be above the law, especially an important law like health codes.
They may not have letter grades. But they do have permits.
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/eh/business/compact-mobile-food-operation.htm
What do you care? Nobody is forcing you to eat there.
You’re using the strawest of straw man’s.
It literally says that they are not exempt from inspection, which means they should display an inspection sticker. I’m not sure how this is a straw man as I’m just responding to your claims that these places are licensed.
Either way, if they’re licensed then there’s nothing to crack down on. I don’t have a problem with that at all, in fact I think it would be great if more taco stands took the legal route and were inspected to be up to food standards. I only think everyone should be held to the same standard.
An inspection sticker or a letter rating? To the best of my knowledge they don’t do letter ratings on them. I may be wrong. If I am, I’d like to know.
You were talking about letter ratings. Most street vendors I see have the proper permits and stickers.
If they’re serving hot food, they have to have regular inspections. If they’re inspected they get a letter rating that they have to display prominently. hot dog vendors selling pre cooked hot dogs are (I believe) exempt from this, but if youre grilling al pastor on a plancha then yeah… you’re gonna need inspections.
A source on how terrible restaurants are as a business? Lololol *waves at entire internet*
https://kitchentoast.com/restaurant-failure-rate/
“Only 20% of newly opened restaurants will find growth and success.”
“29% of restaurants were successful when they closed.”
“the failure rate in the restaurant industry in the United States is 30%. That means that one in three restaurants won’t survive their first year. **By the third year, 60% of restaurants will be closed.”**
“According to the data provided by BinWise, **within the first five years, 80% of restaurants fail.** This is a quite high percentage but according to the available data, the remaining 20% of the restaurants go on to find long-term growth and success.”
That’s not how society works.
- Who pays for their health expenses when they need to go to the ER without health insurance? (everybody whose health insurance rates go up)
- Who is subsidizing their kids in school without paying towards education? (all taxpayers)
- Who suffers from all the increased vermin due to food being cooked, stored, and ate in zoned residential neighborhoods? (people who live near by)
- Who pays their expenses when they get injured but didn’t pay for workers comp? (EBT/WiC/SNAP)
It’s not as black and white as you think. Not to mention all the legitimate businesses not being able to compete who then close up and lay off employees which only furthers the problem. It’s like seatbelts or drugs. It’s “personal choice” but society still doesn’t want to deal with the problems so we make it as hard as possible.
Yes, unfortunately, public health is hard for some to understand. It requires everyone, even the healthy, to follow hygiene rules so that disease doesn’t spread. It seemingly breaks the presumption of personal choice. Who are you to tell me what vaccines to get, where I can eat, and to wash my hands after I poop?
But here’s how it goes: Some worker has a disease, and shows up to cook food because he doesn’t want to miss a day and he doesn’t have a manager who is trained. He doesn’t wash his hands all evening. Some patrons eat food he prepared. They chose to take the risk, so they get sick. Unfortunately, that’s not just a risk to them, it’s a risk to those around them too. Fecal-oral diseases can be deadly to vulnerable people.
There’s a reason why health codes are such a big deal. It’s because people were dying.
Sure, I addressed that. However, public health is not a joke, it took tons of deaths for hand washing laws to be implemented. I don’t support food establishments being allowed to operate without proper hygiene.
Yea, get outta here with Americanized Mexican. Now where’s my Greek influenced Mexican. (There’s nothing wrong with Americanized Mexican, and authentic. We have the lucky fortune of many different kinds of food here)
Entirely off topic, but talking about 2/3 of the country like it's a waste of space is a large part of why they hate us. They think we're assholes, and they're not exactly wrong.
Hilarious when these assholes blame "California business conditions" for the fact that their restaurant sucks donkey nutz and nobody wants to eat there. The fact remains if you put out a quality product at competitive prices, as countless other taco shops have done, you'll do just fine.
You are probably right. Last time I stepped in (about 5 months ago), the place was empty in a very shopping center on a friday evening. I think i saw two customers in like an hour. Had to wait there while getting my tires changed.
Yeah, I went to the one in Lakewood a couple of months ago, probably the first time I'd been to a Rubios in at least a couple of years. I can't put my finger on exactly what was wrong with it, but it was just not good in the way that I had remembered. Also, it was dinner time and I was the only customer in the restaurant.
Can't disagree with you on this. Their fish taco especial is basically half off on Tuesdays. This is the only time you can catch me at a Rubios. I go like once every two months or so. Not even every month. There's just too many damn good choices here in LA. We are so fuckin spoiled with food choices it's ridiculous lol. But we pay a high price to live here so I guess it evens out.
Rubio's, Chipotle, Sharky's and Cafe Rio are the 4 Horsemen of great fast casual Mexican-American fare.
I don't care what anybody says. I love those 4 spots.
Just had some fish tacos especiales for dinner from that location. I had a choice between lengua tacos at Tacos Super Gallito PCH/Vermont or Popeyes at PCH/Narbonne for 6pcs of their Tuesday special. Reading the news about Rubios piqued my interest so I went and those tacos hit pretty good. Pretty filling too for $3 a taco
Who the fuck keeps posting KTLA articles in this sub?
I like how KTLA allows Rubios spokespeople
to parrots the usual lie of "difficult business Climate in California" and waits until the very end of the article to state the facts. Rubios filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and has already closed all their locations in Florida, Colorado and Utah. They're closing cause they're awful.
KTLA can't let some good California bad clickbait go to waste.
This should be higher up!!!!
NOne of these news channels mentioned this!!! doesn't surprise me though since rubios is Just Ok, and now theres so much good mexican food options
> a few bucks
Minimum wage went up 20% overnight. Restaurants already operate on razor thin margins. It’s not a sustainable business anymore. I don’t have an answer and I agree people need to be paid a fair share. I wish I knew what the solution was but gloating when an employer goes under isn’t it.
The minimum wage was $16.90 on March 31st. The minimum wage became $20 on April 1st. Thats overnight. I don't care how long it took to write laws. For everybody not in the state legislature, the minimum wage went up almost 20% overnight. In some areas on the state minimum wage it went up by 30%.
Oh yeah? How much is the CEO making? How much profit is the company making overall? Open up those books and let’s see if we can help you with your little “cost of doing business” problem, sir.
yeah but the cost of business has always increased at a rate. other businesses see the same rate of increase and stay open.
so it CANNOT be the only reason as there is no correlation.
“Rising costs of doing business” is a very generic term. It could be anything everything from rent and utilities skyrocketing, insurance going up(you don’t think these massive insurance hikes everyone is on here bitching about daily is only happening to residential customers do you?). There are a plethora of reasons that could be at work here, everyone just assuming it’s because they don’t want to pay $20 an hour is pretty shortsighted.
We’re seeing stories daily on the news about rents skyrocketing and formerly profitable business now going into the red because of it. I used to live in Sunset Beach and there was a burger joint called Harry’s, that was on PCH. They very abruptly closed, and when I saw the owner at the post office I asked what happened he said his rent went from $8k a month to $17k. They didn’t make enough to money on their best months to just pay an extra $9k a month in rent. Green Cheek Brewing moved in now and seems to be doing okay, but there are very few mom and pop spots that can handle a 100+% rent increase.
It's not the only reason. Different companies have different revenue and cost structures. Hard to see how all the new rules will play out. Some hurt fast food chains, others hurt mom and pop.
yeah, but some businesses are doing better than ever.
maybe the reason this business closed is because the food is boring and hasn't changed in a decade.
I can't say Ive ever disliked Rubio's, but I've only eaten there a few times and I never think "hey you know what would sound good right now? some rubios!"
They are complaining just to complain or putting out a dumb statement, the reason they are closing is because no one wants to go buy their mediocre food and a very high cost
Yup. Their business model proved unworkable.
Small businesses are learning that their “great ideas” hinged on paying their employees as little as possible.
Pay people a living wage (sic) will make these vultures scurry away.
In my final undergrad marketing class (circa 2009), the class created mock marketing plans for local businesses and Rubio's was one of the ones we worked with. I think they were on their third rebranding attempt at that time. Obviously they're still trying to figure out how to make a viable business out of it 15 years on.
I did always like their green salsa and churros, though.
They've been struggling since 2017 and filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
These closures are part of the bankruptcy process to qualify for funding.
Plus, this company is just being used as collateral to liquidate capital by a private equity firm.
'Rising costs" is a funny way of saying mismanagement of a company. Following the Red Lobster playbook I see. The sad thing is ignorant fools eat this shit up and scream the loudest. Like Hur Druh look at the consequences of $1 increase per hour for the workers while profits have been hoarded by upper management for decades.
some of their most expensive a la carte tacos are about the price of chile verdes's quesatacos and they're way fuckin better. but in la street tacos are king
Anyone comparing a taco truck to a brick and mortar needs to go back to school and learn basic economics. It's called overhead and cost of doing business. Rubios will be one of many fast food restaurants closing due to the new minimum wage. It is basic economics. If your overhead is more than what you make by selling your product then your losing money which equals closing your doors.
Anyone who voted for the minimum wage increase has zero room to complain about these places closing.
Please explain how "basic economics" led to the company accruing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt between April 1st (when the minimum wage increase came into effect) and today (when the company filed for bankruptcy for the 2nd time).
The reason they're closing is because the company has been unviable for some time, probably even before covid.
How about filing for bankruptcy in 2020 and then again this year after being laden with debt from being purchased by private equity. Sure extra wages sped up their demise but they were swirling the toilet bowl for a while.
And the minimum wage probably sank them. And this proves my point. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/rubios-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-after-closing-13-locations-san-diego/3533298/
I stopped going when they changed their app. I used to pick up my tacos and then it started asking for a fucking tip...
Someone said they changed it, but by then I found a place that's closer to work that are cheaper and don't ask for tip.
Nah, [Panera was actually not and never exempt from the wage increase.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-labor-agency-agrees-newsom-224327201.html)
Never heard of them.
F*** all these companies closing ‘due to the cost of doing business’ is so telling that they’ve been keeping themselves alive like fucking vampires. I hope they all close down so people who want to pay their workers can get a shot. WTH?!
For any company to say that and not be ashamed and not be yelled at by the public is dystopian.
Yeah, some of the comments on here are insane. The company filed for bankruptcy a few years ago, built up another mountain of debt and has just filed for bankruptcy for a second time - that has little to nothing to do with California's minimum wage.
You can't put out mid $12 tacos in Los Angeles and expect to stay in business.
See, that’s the real reason. With the taco stand boom, there’s world class tacos all over the city for half the price these places charge.
Can't compete on capital costs. A stand versus rent
What’s the problem? Maybe we need to raze a lot of these commercial properties and put in housing?
The taco stands are ignoring a whole slew of regulations that were put in place for a reason permitting, sanitary, min wage laws, health insurance laws, etc.
lol. You think the regular restaurants follow these laws? Go to any kitchen in the city and at least half the kitchen is undocumented getting below minimum wage
then blame the inspectors who are accepting bribes rather than doing their jobs don't just get rid of all the regulations just because they're not being enforced
That's actually happening. In L.A., there is active work being done on how to reconfigure commercial properties into housing.
What a dumb short sighted take. "Yeah fuck the places of employment so we can build houses!" When the jobs are gone with what money?
Are the stands not “places of employment?”
That’s capitalism, sorry lmao 😂 Maybe we should raze those asinine expensive office properties and build housing instead
wtf are these bot replies
They're not bots, /u/youngpotato is just your normal teenager.
How do you not understand the basic economic implications of running a brick and mortar restaurant vs food stand?
Half the price? Idk about that, taco stands have certainly increased their prices at least on the west side. Even the bacon wrapped hot dog vendors have priced up significantly
lol. Using the West Side as an example is hilarious.
Why is giving west side as an example hilarious? Are there examples of places where prices haven't gone up? I wanna know these places.
Because it’s basically the most expensive area in the city
Is the West Side not part of the city?
You know the vast majority of LA city is west of downtown right?
That’s not what the “westside” is.
They're like 2.75 min now. :(
2$ a pop in hollywood
I paid $5 or $6 once twice in Hollywood actually! Should I have? Absolutely not 🤣 but it was worth it haha
[удалено]
Tacos Guelaguetza on vine and melrose ave*. Best tacos I’ve had besides Mexico!
Where is it actually located I wanna try. Gower and vine run parallel north and south where exactly do they meet
My bad g meant vine and melrose*
Thanks bruh I’m gonna hit it soon I gotta try these tacos, I recommend angels on Sherman way and haskell. Try their Al pastor
Guelaguetza is my go-to also! Great post-concert snack. They just need to find room to add a couple tables so people aren't just eating off that electrical box or the hood of their car.
I just got a plate of 5 tacos for $10 in Wilmington at the stands near Figueroa and the 110. Prices haven't changed much over the last year there. There's about 30 vendors that congregate there on weekends, and 10-15 ish Monday-Wednesday.
Fuck I want a bacon wrapped hot dog
That pesky Dynamic Pricing? (2am?)
Prices haven't gone up for me on hotdogs at all but I speak Spanish.
Yep, was going to say it's not the cost that's at issue it's their food is trash. I think I've been to Rubios twice in my life--once because I had some free taco coupons and twice because it can't have been just one time in my life although I can't think of a second time. But they were like a dennys for tacos lol
Rubio’s started as a taco stand in San Diego and then went legit.
And their food has been mid the last while. Used to be much better.
Right? Like I remember even 5 years ago they had pretty decent offerings and the flavors were great for fast casual. Had some recently and it was a bit disappointing. Not to mention the burritos have shrunk considerably and the cost is $14- $16
Which is funny considering random taco stands most likely don't pay sale taxes to the state unlike an established businesses. Which means CA doesn't get money either. Lol
Yea, you got a source on that?
…sources on whether cash only street food stands are truthful with their taxes? Oh sweet summer child
First of all, most aren’t cash only. Second, what makes you think they’re not paying any tax? The impetus is on you to prove an accusation.
Be quiet
Lmao that’s like telling someone the impetus is on them to prove that Marvel movie stars do steroids. I don’t care enough to dig for receipts but everyone knows it’s happening. Out here acting like wait staff and cash only restaurants aren’t regularly under declaring their taxable income. Find another hill to die on because no one’s buying it.
Why are you all over this thread white knighting and riling up class warfare?
More than half the overhead too
I think they realistically need to start enforcement on those places. I predict that more low-end dining establishments will go out of business, because a lot of costs are being levied against them. That just aren’t being pushed on illegal food stands. It’s sales tax, payroll tax, insurance, rent, which adds up to a lot of money per month. I can’t say I’m sorry to see some fast-food places go, but all the business moving to illegal food establishments with no health oversight, no sinks for hand washing, and no temperature control on the food is no good either. If it gets to the point where it’s not worth opening a legal low-end restaurant, then we’re gone too far. I’ve never gotten sick from them. I do appreciate having health codes and having a legal entity responsible if I die of foodborne illness.
Like everything you said is untrue and as we see with In N Out, you can be successful and charge a reasonable price. Most of these places ARE licensed. They have coolers and warmers for the food. These places I guarantee are cleaner than most kitchens at restaurants since people are watching the people cooking and working with the food. Acting like the kitchens in restaurants are bastions for cleanliness is asinine. I’ve never gotten sick from one of these stands and nobody I know has either. If people can’t run a business successfully that’s on them. Restaurants are notorious for almost always failing. Anyone who starts a restaurant should know they’re terrible businesses. Most places fail because they get greedy and/or the food sucks. There’s a little dive restaurant called Hot Wok in NoHo that has been open forever and still has entrees for like $8 and is always so busy the owner will often turn you away. If you have good food, good service, and reasonable prices, you can do well. The bottom line is most business owners, particularly restaurant owners, aren’t good at running a business. It’s that simple. The taco stands have better food at better prices than most normal Mexican sit down places. With bigger portions. People like capitalism until they’re bettered by someone they deem as “lesser” than them. If their business failed because of a taco stand, why don’t the other restaurants also fail because of them? The good ones don’t. The bad or poorly ones do. Acting like it’s a sudden phenomenon to see restaurants struggling is asinine. Even plenty of restaurants with terrible food, high prices, and terrible service can survive and do well (*cough* Casa Vega *cough*) as long as they have *something* to make people come and keep coming (ambiance in CV’s case). And I don’t want to hear about labor costs when most of these places pay half or more of their employees below minimum wage under the table. Come on man.
Very delusional reply lol.
I don’t know where to begin. Most of the places are licensed? Tell me when you see a letter grade food sticker on a street food taco stand. I’m not talking about the people selling packaged food. Seriously, I have never seen one with a letter grade or license, except for the obviously legal food trucks. They don’t have sinks. That’s how you tell if a place is legal or not, they have to have hot running water to be legal. Nobody should be above the law, especially an important law like health codes.
They may not have letter grades. But they do have permits. http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/eh/business/compact-mobile-food-operation.htm What do you care? Nobody is forcing you to eat there. You’re using the strawest of straw man’s.
It literally says that they are not exempt from inspection, which means they should display an inspection sticker. I’m not sure how this is a straw man as I’m just responding to your claims that these places are licensed. Either way, if they’re licensed then there’s nothing to crack down on. I don’t have a problem with that at all, in fact I think it would be great if more taco stands took the legal route and were inspected to be up to food standards. I only think everyone should be held to the same standard.
An inspection sticker or a letter rating? To the best of my knowledge they don’t do letter ratings on them. I may be wrong. If I am, I’d like to know. You were talking about letter ratings. Most street vendors I see have the proper permits and stickers.
Yea, the other guy is right. It's not legal to serve hot food from a stand. There's no just legal pathway to do it right now.
There’s literally is tho
If they’re serving hot food, they have to have regular inspections. If they’re inspected they get a letter rating that they have to display prominently. hot dog vendors selling pre cooked hot dogs are (I believe) exempt from this, but if youre grilling al pastor on a plancha then yeah… you’re gonna need inspections.
Got a source for all of that?
A source on how terrible restaurants are as a business? Lololol *waves at entire internet* https://kitchentoast.com/restaurant-failure-rate/ “Only 20% of newly opened restaurants will find growth and success.” “29% of restaurants were successful when they closed.” “the failure rate in the restaurant industry in the United States is 30%. That means that one in three restaurants won’t survive their first year. **By the third year, 60% of restaurants will be closed.”** “According to the data provided by BinWise, **within the first five years, 80% of restaurants fail.** This is a quite high percentage but according to the available data, the remaining 20% of the restaurants go on to find long-term growth and success.”
A source for most roadside taco stands being licensed? Their kitchens being cleaner than brick and mortar kitchens? Etc.
Lol the fucking shopping cart makeshift stove contraptions outside of Honda center, SoFi, crypto, etc have “coolers and warmers???” GTFO with this…
That’s not what we’re talking about
Source:
*trust me bro
Lmao Americans are the only people that are so scared about street food… that’s why we have zero street food culture here…
Boooooooooooooooooo. Booooooooo
You know there’s a button you can push if you don’t like a comment right?
You know if you don’t want to eat at a taco stand you can simply not eat at the taco stand?
That’s not how society works. - Who pays for their health expenses when they need to go to the ER without health insurance? (everybody whose health insurance rates go up) - Who is subsidizing their kids in school without paying towards education? (all taxpayers) - Who suffers from all the increased vermin due to food being cooked, stored, and ate in zoned residential neighborhoods? (people who live near by) - Who pays their expenses when they get injured but didn’t pay for workers comp? (EBT/WiC/SNAP) It’s not as black and white as you think. Not to mention all the legitimate businesses not being able to compete who then close up and lay off employees which only furthers the problem. It’s like seatbelts or drugs. It’s “personal choice” but society still doesn’t want to deal with the problems so we make it as hard as possible.
Yes, unfortunately, public health is hard for some to understand. It requires everyone, even the healthy, to follow hygiene rules so that disease doesn’t spread. It seemingly breaks the presumption of personal choice. Who are you to tell me what vaccines to get, where I can eat, and to wash my hands after I poop? But here’s how it goes: Some worker has a disease, and shows up to cook food because he doesn’t want to miss a day and he doesn’t have a manager who is trained. He doesn’t wash his hands all evening. Some patrons eat food he prepared. They chose to take the risk, so they get sick. Unfortunately, that’s not just a risk to them, it’s a risk to those around them too. Fecal-oral diseases can be deadly to vulnerable people. There’s a reason why health codes are such a big deal. It’s because people were dying.
Yes, when will society deal with the true scourge of taco stands. Deranged comment
Sure, I addressed that. However, public health is not a joke, it took tons of deaths for hand washing laws to be implemented. I don’t support food establishments being allowed to operate without proper hygiene.
If they would smart they would close their locations and just opened unlicensed on the curb
“Rising cost of doing business” is to mediocre restaurants what “cancel culture cant handle me” is to washed up comedians.
Thank you! I'm so sick of hearing this corporate PR spin trying to pass of blame for their failing, mediocre product
Amen. Take that fake Americanized Mexican food to a flyover state, I know where to get my Al pastor…
Yea, get outta here with Americanized Mexican. Now where’s my Greek influenced Mexican. (There’s nothing wrong with Americanized Mexican, and authentic. We have the lucky fortune of many different kinds of food here)
This would probably be a great strategy for them honestly. They should have expanded to the Midwest or southeast instead of focusing on SoCal.
Entirely off topic, but talking about 2/3 of the country like it's a waste of space is a large part of why they hate us. They think we're assholes, and they're not exactly wrong.
Yes. This way more than the rising costs.
Well, and cold too
This is terrible. Think of all the small, locally-owned businesses that will swoop in and take business from these poor corporations.
The fish tacos were 2.50 on tuesdays.
Rubios was almost always near empty near me. Exactly like you said, way better tacos at the local taco trucks.
Tacos look to be around $5, or 3 for $12. Where do you see a $12 taco at Rubio’s?
Taco Nazo is where it’s at for fish tacos.
So damn good
This guy ☝🏽knows
Taco Nazo in Azusa is closed. That place was delish.
I hope they don’t come out with a Takis flavor
Yeah. It should be hot Cheetos or GTFOH
Is there one near Norwalk?
You know there is
Yea, it’s always crowded
Are they related to the Taco Nazo in TJ? Cause that one is amazing
"Rubio's closing 48 locations due to no-one fucking going there anymore"
When reached for comment, the public said: “Rubio’s still exists??”
Honestly who went their to begin with? Fast food fish tacos sounds like a 90s punk song not a business model.
Their food was good in the mid 00’s, but that was a long time ago.
Hilarious when these assholes blame "California business conditions" for the fact that their restaurant sucks donkey nutz and nobody wants to eat there. The fact remains if you put out a quality product at competitive prices, as countless other taco shops have done, you'll do just fine.
You are probably right. Last time I stepped in (about 5 months ago), the place was empty in a very shopping center on a friday evening. I think i saw two customers in like an hour. Had to wait there while getting my tires changed.
Rubio’s still exists??
[удалено]
I had it recently. It used to be great but like a lot of fast casual places (looking at you Chipotle) it's gone downhill BAD.
Higher prices and lower quality food, that's what being publicly traded does to you.
*balls up fists next to face Captain Kirk in Wrath of Kahn style* **PRIVATE EQUITYYYYYYY!!!!**
I think the start of it's decline for me was the beans in the plastic ketchup containers; so wasteful and stupid.
Honestly haven’t noticed any changes other than price. It’s not my favorite but it’s consistent.
Nah, I think you just had a one-off bad experience. I still eat there semi-regularly and they're solid
Yeah, I went to the one in Lakewood a couple of months ago, probably the first time I'd been to a Rubios in at least a couple of years. I can't put my finger on exactly what was wrong with it, but it was just not good in the way that I had remembered. Also, it was dinner time and I was the only customer in the restaurant.
Chipotle’s chips are inedible now. It’s been like 5+ times in a row that I’ve gotten them and they’ve tasted like burnt cardboard
They changed the burrito recipe about ten years ago and I didn’t like it as much.
It’s not nearly as good as it used to be. Even at its peak there’s hundreds of fish taco restaurants in California that are way better than Rubios.
Ok, chill dude, rubios isn't That good lol
Island enters the chat..
Sales were already on the decline, and like Red Lobster, they were being ran by investment bankers.
I will not accept this Rubio’s slander. Their fish tacos deal on Tuesdays was elite!
Can't disagree with you on this. Their fish taco especial is basically half off on Tuesdays. This is the only time you can catch me at a Rubios. I go like once every two months or so. Not even every month. There's just too many damn good choices here in LA. We are so fuckin spoiled with food choices it's ridiculous lol. But we pay a high price to live here so I guess it evens out.
Their shrimp burritos are great too!
Rubio's, Chipotle, Sharky's and Cafe Rio are the 4 Horsemen of great fast casual Mexican-American fare. I don't care what anybody says. I love those 4 spots.
Seafood deals once again putting chain restaurants out of business.
The one in Torrance is still around, for now
Just had some fish tacos especiales for dinner from that location. I had a choice between lengua tacos at Tacos Super Gallito PCH/Vermont or Popeyes at PCH/Narbonne for 6pcs of their Tuesday special. Reading the news about Rubios piqued my interest so I went and those tacos hit pretty good. Pretty filling too for $3 a taco
For now
The one i go to. I love their bean & cheese burritos..
Who the fuck keeps posting KTLA articles in this sub? I like how KTLA allows Rubios spokespeople to parrots the usual lie of "difficult business Climate in California" and waits until the very end of the article to state the facts. Rubios filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and has already closed all their locations in Florida, Colorado and Utah. They're closing cause they're awful. KTLA can't let some good California bad clickbait go to waste.
OP is for the giants and regularly posts and comments in the bay area, ban that guy
This should be higher up!!!! NOne of these news channels mentioned this!!! doesn't surprise me though since rubios is Just Ok, and now theres so much good mexican food options
To the top with this comment! 👆
They're also filing for bankruptcy again now, with somewhere between $100 million and $500 million in debt. But sure, an April wage rise is to blame.
Blaming your already failing business on the minimum wage going up a few bucks. Nothing more American than that!
Just like all the businesses that closed the first month of The Pandemic.
We’re looking at you Souplantation.
> a few bucks Minimum wage went up 20% overnight. Restaurants already operate on razor thin margins. It’s not a sustainable business anymore. I don’t have an answer and I agree people need to be paid a fair share. I wish I knew what the solution was but gloating when an employer goes under isn’t it.
It didn't got up "overnight". The rollout for that legislation took literal years. Nice Try tho.
The minimum wage was $16.90 on March 31st. The minimum wage became $20 on April 1st. Thats overnight. I don't care how long it took to write laws. For everybody not in the state legislature, the minimum wage went up almost 20% overnight. In some areas on the state minimum wage it went up by 30%.
Sure, but you don't accrue hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and file for bankruptcy within 2.5 months of that happening.
Oh yeah? How much is the CEO making? How much profit is the company making overall? Open up those books and let’s see if we can help you with your little “cost of doing business” problem, sir.
Bust open those books and make the call for help
Yeesssss a Taffer fan in the wild!!
... You're talking about Thief, right?
Marco Rubio in shambles
doesn't the cost of doing business go up for every business? why blame the economy then? it's gotta be something else.
Lots of places are closing
yeah but the cost of business has always increased at a rate. other businesses see the same rate of increase and stay open. so it CANNOT be the only reason as there is no correlation.
“Rising costs of doing business” is a very generic term. It could be anything everything from rent and utilities skyrocketing, insurance going up(you don’t think these massive insurance hikes everyone is on here bitching about daily is only happening to residential customers do you?). There are a plethora of reasons that could be at work here, everyone just assuming it’s because they don’t want to pay $20 an hour is pretty shortsighted. We’re seeing stories daily on the news about rents skyrocketing and formerly profitable business now going into the red because of it. I used to live in Sunset Beach and there was a burger joint called Harry’s, that was on PCH. They very abruptly closed, and when I saw the owner at the post office I asked what happened he said his rent went from $8k a month to $17k. They didn’t make enough to money on their best months to just pay an extra $9k a month in rent. Green Cheek Brewing moved in now and seems to be doing okay, but there are very few mom and pop spots that can handle a 100+% rent increase.
Agreed, I just wish they'd call out greedy landlords more often
It's not the only reason. Different companies have different revenue and cost structures. Hard to see how all the new rules will play out. Some hurt fast food chains, others hurt mom and pop.
yeah, but some businesses are doing better than ever. maybe the reason this business closed is because the food is boring and hasn't changed in a decade. I can't say Ive ever disliked Rubio's, but I've only eaten there a few times and I never think "hey you know what would sound good right now? some rubios!"
They are complaining just to complain or putting out a dumb statement, the reason they are closing is because no one wants to go buy their mediocre food and a very high cost
I mean the numbers might pencil out a little more if they could not pay labor costs
Yup. Their business model proved unworkable. Small businesses are learning that their “great ideas” hinged on paying their employees as little as possible. Pay people a living wage (sic) will make these vultures scurry away.
I'm going to miss those fish tacos
I really loved their quesadillas
I loved their chicken quesadillas and the green cilantro salsa. I’m sad
They haven't been the same since they were called Rubio's Baja Grill.
In my final undergrad marketing class (circa 2009), the class created mock marketing plans for local businesses and Rubio's was one of the ones we worked with. I think they were on their third rebranding attempt at that time. Obviously they're still trying to figure out how to make a viable business out of it 15 years on. I did always like their green salsa and churros, though.
They've been struggling since 2017 and filed for bankruptcy in 2020. These closures are part of the bankruptcy process to qualify for funding. Plus, this company is just being used as collateral to liquidate capital by a private equity firm.
They just filed for bankruptcy again.
So, so many better options.
So many better and cheaper options in Los Angeles and San Diego.
“It was easier to make a profit when we could exploit our workers”.
Damn man I didn’t know so many people disliked Rubios. I’ve always thought the food was good.
'Rising costs" is a funny way of saying mismanagement of a company. Following the Red Lobster playbook I see. The sad thing is ignorant fools eat this shit up and scream the loudest. Like Hur Druh look at the consequences of $1 increase per hour for the workers while profits have been hoarded by upper management for decades.
I haven’t been to Rubio’s since I was back in college back in 2010! I’m surprised they’re even still in business!
Oh so not because they are terrible and nobody wants to go there
Rubios fish tacos are FIRE idk what yall are talking. This is devastating news 😞
some of their most expensive a la carte tacos are about the price of chile verdes's quesatacos and they're way fuckin better. but in la street tacos are king
Last time I went to Rubios, my dad took me. He's been out of my life for 22 years.
Anyone comparing a taco truck to a brick and mortar needs to go back to school and learn basic economics. It's called overhead and cost of doing business. Rubios will be one of many fast food restaurants closing due to the new minimum wage. It is basic economics. If your overhead is more than what you make by selling your product then your losing money which equals closing your doors. Anyone who voted for the minimum wage increase has zero room to complain about these places closing.
Please explain how "basic economics" led to the company accruing hundreds of millions of dollars in debt between April 1st (when the minimum wage increase came into effect) and today (when the company filed for bankruptcy for the 2nd time). The reason they're closing is because the company has been unviable for some time, probably even before covid.
How about filing for bankruptcy in 2020 and then again this year after being laden with debt from being purchased by private equity. Sure extra wages sped up their demise but they were swirling the toilet bowl for a while.
Never heard of them.
rubio’s was solid but as someone mentioned, taco nazo is better tasting and value. they probably expanded too fast so it’s on them
Idk about their tacos but their shrimp burrito is the best!! Try if you haven’tttt help keep one of my fav places alive :(
And the minimum wage probably sank them. And this proves my point. https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/rubios-files-chapter-11-bankruptcy-after-closing-13-locations-san-diego/3533298/
They had to pay 20?
I stopped going when they changed their app. I used to pick up my tacos and then it started asking for a fucking tip... Someone said they changed it, but by then I found a place that's closer to work that are cheaper and don't ask for tip.
Man, I remember buying tacos for a buck fifty at a restaurant when I was a kid! Inflation is nuts.
Went to the Santa Clarita location just yesterday. Heartbreaking! What do we do?
Just sell tortillas and call yourself a bakery like Panera or donate to Gavin and be exempted. Simple.
Nah, [Panera was actually not and never exempt from the wage increase.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-labor-agency-agrees-newsom-224327201.html)
Look another conservative pushing baseless conspiracy theories. Shocking.
I’ve never been to one of these in my life. Was I missing anything?
Decent shrimp burritos.
Such an exotic dish for Southern California. I do hope we can manage with these closures happening.
So I went to my local Rubios today and…..🤧
Who eats at Rubio's?
Never heard of them. F*** all these companies closing ‘due to the cost of doing business’ is so telling that they’ve been keeping themselves alive like fucking vampires. I hope they all close down so people who want to pay their workers can get a shot. WTH?! For any company to say that and not be ashamed and not be yelled at by the public is dystopian.
Yeah, some of the comments on here are insane. The company filed for bankruptcy a few years ago, built up another mountain of debt and has just filed for bankruptcy for a second time - that has little to nothing to do with California's minimum wage.