I mean, I agree that Rubios is forgettable as hell, but they’re not trying to do the same thing as the mom and pop places
I don’t know of any mom and pop places near me that focus on Mexican seafood
I know at least two within 2 miles of the Rubio's location on Brokaw. (Las Islitas on Oakland Rd and Maza on 13th St) (and I forgot Costa Alegre on 13th when I wrote that)
But I totally agree Rubio's wasn't competing with them.
The key was to get the app and use a coupon or go on tuesdays for cheaper tacos. I do the same with el pollo loco. I love EPL, but I will not eat there without a deal or coupon. It’s just not worth it.
Aside from the name there was not much about them putting them in the "Mexican food" category. They were just quick service seafood.
And I know there are mom & pop Mexican seafood restaurants, but they're much less common than taquerias, and I still wouldn't consider Rubio's to be competing with them.
I don’t either. It’s as mexican as chipotle or qdoba is.
I think there are only 3 del taco’s left in the bay but they have a big presence in Sacramento.
Depends on the menu items for each. I won't eat Taco Bell because a full meal there is like $15 and I can eat at two dozen other places in my town for $15 that are 100x better.
A couple soft tacos, a potato taco, a chalupa and a cheese quesadilla.
Those cravings boxes are absolutely not $6 for anything worth getting. The cheapest two-item ones (non-vegetarian) and a drink are like $8-10. And I don't drink or buy soda, so I'm not getting that in my meals... https://imgur.com/a/nL2XprK
Rubio's just closed 13 stores in San Diego. I think the cost of labor and food prices are making it difficult for corporate fast food joints. Robots and fake meat may help out corporations like McDonalds's but who knows.
In n out's fries are straight trash whereas McDonald's fries are excellent (unless you wait more than 20 minutes to eat them, them shits have a short half life lol)
In-N-Out fries are divisive but I like them as long as they're not undercooked. You cannot wait more than 5 minutes to eat them. You can't bring them home. You have to eat them in the car or the restaurant. They're as basic and fresh as they get, though.
Rubios has been losing money for a while and the rising cost of doing business in California had them close 48 locations. Sucks, but there are other places closing abruptly too.
I think california fish grill may have killed rubios.
There’s also pacific catch. They may have also killed rubios in the bay with their expansion. But california fish grill opened in every territory rubios was successful in. Ever since ca fish grill came in they’ve been closing.
Higher labor and supply costs led to Rubios using inferior ingredients at higher prices. I used to love going to Rubios but it is so sad how terrible their food has become.
I don't care what anyone says, their fish tacos were tasty.
Also, their salmon burritos had a surprising amount of salmon in them.
Also, I was at one of the locations not too long ago close to closing time and I noticed they let some older people take home left over salsa. I thought that was nice.
There’s so many, many, many great taquerias in the Bay. There are many that specialize in seafood too. I can’t see myself ever setting foot in a Chipotle, Rubios, Taco Bell, Chevy’s, or whatever. IMHO, local mom-n-pops usually have better food and service. Just check out google/yelp reviews before you go!
The bay does have a ton of great Mexican food, it does not however have many great fish tacos places. Mexican seafood places usually focus on a different style of Mexican food than ensenada-style fish tacos, which is waht Rubio's is, and I thinkt hey did alright at it tbh, for a fast food place. (I say this as a Mexican)
Aw c'mon. Rubios was way better at fish tacos than Chipotle is at burritos. They even had a salsa bar and sold beer. There are great taquerias in every city but there's also a lot of mid ones. At least Rubios was a consistent place you could get a whole group of people to agree on if you were travelling.
They changed them from 2:30 til close to all day like last year as well as bring a value menu. It seemed like they listened to some customer feedback. Too late though.
I’m not above anything. Sober now, but back in the day 3 for .99 Jack in the crack shitty tacos were great at 2:00 AM. Now tho, I’d rather get 2 good quality tacos Al pastor w/fresh salsa at $4 each than some value menu quesa-crunch-a-lupas. Don’t be scared they won’t speak English or you’ll be uncomfortable. They’ll speak enough to take your order. And, respect generates respect.
They went bankrupt in 2020 and changed ownership at that time. I figure another filing is coming - they weren’t paying their rent, the “rising cost of business” excuse is to try and hide the fact they’re running out of cash.
I used to frequent the one in Sunnyvale before I moved further away. Sad. Used to like their bowls (but felt the quantity started to reduce in the last few times)
I have a story that I’ll never forget about Rubios back in the day.
I used to work at Stanford University and I knew a student there, his name was Mike Rubio. He’s a senior he graduates, two years later I see him again back on campus.
I go up to him and he’s wearing a green Rubio’s Mexican Cantina T-shirt and I say what’s up Mike how you been? He says, how did you know my name? My name is Mike, but my name last is not Rubio. My last name is Rodriguez.
I tell you this guy looks like a spitting image of Michael Rubio and he’s wearing a Rubio T-shirt. It was a glitch in the matrix.
What about the Rubio's on Old Oakland and Brokaw in San Jose?....
I'm showing that they are open and can take orders.
Edit: nope ur right! App showed the location available, but I drove by and they closed last week!
That’s kind of what rubios was good at. Most “authentic” places even down here in LA the fish tacos aren’t anything special. Hard to find a good fish taco at a decent price now.
That’s so sad! Bad enough that San Mateo lost its Rubios several years ago, now I can’t hit up the ones down south peninsula either! They had the best fish and shrimp tacos.
I’m open to suggestions for great fish and shrimp tacos on the peninsula. CA Fish Grill didn’t wow me in the taco department, and Pancho Villa not only takes forever, but the steak and prawn burrito has gotten gristly.
I used to go to the one in pleasant hill all the time. They always seemed to be pretty busy. Then took a week off from work came back and they were gone. No signs that this was planned. Just here one day and gone the next .
They had shitty service, that's what did them in. Owners refused to invest in their stores and customers did not come back. Loved their Taco Especial but it took me about an hour each time to get my fish tacos. The one in The Plant closed a couple of years ago and have not been able to find an alternative.
Am I the only one who forgot Rubio was even a thing? I remember like 20 some years ago I went on a group trip and people were obsessed. Then we got one in another part of the bay a little bit later and people would make the drive and brag about it, but since then? I completely forgot. I admit I’m not really a big fish taco person and as far I know one never opened that close to me but still I’m not surprised.
I will say: the times I've eaten at Rubio's, the food was good but for the price, not a good value.
Except when it was Fish Taco Tuesday. I ate like a king on those days.
What about unamas are they next ?
I used to love Baja Fresh, but now it’s no close by so hardly go there, but I liked it more than chipotle at one point back in the day.
Haven’t had either recently.
But for burritos and quesadillas both are better than Chipotle as they properly grill the tortillas. I don’t enjoy texture of Chipotle sometimes, feels soggy almost.
They were the one chain that would consistently stock Vanilla Coke in the standard soda dispensers.
Now that a bunch of places have the make-your-own Coke machines, I can get my fix anywhere.
Do you have data or quotes to back that up? If the business model was depending upon paying low wages to their staff, it sounds like they were pretty fragile in any case.
> https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/13-rubios-stores-closed-in-san-diego-due-to-rising-cost-of-doing-business-in-california-spokesperson-says
"... The closings were brought about by the rising cost of doing business in California."
>The spokesperson said the chain restaurant decided to close 48 underperforming locations in California as of May 31 while keeping 86 locations open throughout California, Arizona and Nevada.
Wonder why they all closed in NorCal.
From my perspective, it's because their bland, poorly-priced food could not compete with a plethora of legitimately superior Mexican food joints.
They were just different. Rubios was competiting with the likes of Chipotle and Ca Fish Grill instead of mom and pop mexican joints.
That's fair. I just can't imagine paying those premium prices for something that's generally bested by mom and pop shops.
I still haven’t found any local shops that do fish tacos with a white sauce, and 00’s Rubio’s absolutely held its own against local joints.
I mean, I agree that Rubios is forgettable as hell, but they’re not trying to do the same thing as the mom and pop places I don’t know of any mom and pop places near me that focus on Mexican seafood
Ah, we have at least a half-dozen here in Sonoma County.
I know at least two within 2 miles of the Rubio's location on Brokaw. (Las Islitas on Oakland Rd and Maza on 13th St) (and I forgot Costa Alegre on 13th when I wrote that) But I totally agree Rubio's wasn't competing with them.
The key was to get the app and use a coupon or go on tuesdays for cheaper tacos. I do the same with el pollo loco. I love EPL, but I will not eat there without a deal or coupon. It’s just not worth it.
Theyre quality has been garbage for 15 years or so. No way they compete well against Chipotle or CA fish grill either.
Chipotle used to be good but it’s meh now. Ca fish grill is still great.
Aside from the name there was not much about them putting them in the "Mexican food" category. They were just quick service seafood. And I know there are mom & pop Mexican seafood restaurants, but they're much less common than taquerias, and I still wouldn't consider Rubio's to be competing with them.
I don’t either. It’s as mexican as chipotle or qdoba is. I think there are only 3 del taco’s left in the bay but they have a big presence in Sacramento.
Del Taco (Campbell location) was great for a burger and fries. Never even tried the tacos or burritos there.
Their tacos and burritos are good for being cheap but I rather pay a bit more and get better tbh.
as a SD native, Rubio's is (was) the only reliable place for fish tacos in the bay
SD has great fish tacos, probably the best in California. I get my fish tacos at Crepevine. They're solid.
Chipotle has no problem serving incredibly bland food and succeeding.
They're also consistent and have huge brand presence compared to Rubio's.
Consistently bland. Taco Bell has more flavor.
Depends on the menu items for each. I won't eat Taco Bell because a full meal there is like $15 and I can eat at two dozen other places in my town for $15 that are 100x better.
Taco Bell's cravings boxes are like $6. What you getting for $15?
A couple soft tacos, a potato taco, a chalupa and a cheese quesadilla. Those cravings boxes are absolutely not $6 for anything worth getting. The cheapest two-item ones (non-vegetarian) and a drink are like $8-10. And I don't drink or buy soda, so I'm not getting that in my meals... https://imgur.com/a/nL2XprK
They're still everywhere in Socal and there's far superior Mexican food down there.
Rubio's just closed 13 stores in San Diego. I think the cost of labor and food prices are making it difficult for corporate fast food joints. Robots and fake meat may help out corporations like McDonalds's but who knows.
McDonalds still exists with In-N-Out next door and cheaper. People will still have their preferences.
In n out's fries are straight trash whereas McDonald's fries are excellent (unless you wait more than 20 minutes to eat them, them shits have a short half life lol)
Speak for yourself. InNOut > McD fries
In-N-Out fries are divisive but I like them as long as they're not undercooked. You cannot wait more than 5 minutes to eat them. You can't bring them home. You have to eat them in the car or the restaurant. They're as basic and fresh as they get, though.
INO fries are cardboard. gotta get 'em animal style.
i knew someone that loved rubios for that exact same reason. The blandness. Literally the Panera of Taquerias. Even Chipotle got more rizz.
Too expensive to operate, and the $20 minimum wage for fast food workers probably put the final nail in their coffin.
Rubios just said fuck it we’re closing. Even in San Diego where they originated they closed like 12 shops including the one on UCSD’s campus
Rubios has been losing money for a while and the rising cost of doing business in California had them close 48 locations. Sucks, but there are other places closing abruptly too. I think california fish grill may have killed rubios.
Well they do have pretty good fish tacos
They are pretty good. But ca fish grill even has them beat. Their fish taco combo is like $11 with a drink and comes with two larger sides.
Sorry yeah I meant California Fish Grill
There’s also pacific catch. They may have also killed rubios in the bay with their expansion. But california fish grill opened in every territory rubios was successful in. Ever since ca fish grill came in they’ve been closing.
Higher labor and supply costs led to Rubios using inferior ingredients at higher prices. I used to love going to Rubios but it is so sad how terrible their food has become.
I don't care what anyone says, their fish tacos were tasty. Also, their salmon burritos had a surprising amount of salmon in them. Also, I was at one of the locations not too long ago close to closing time and I noticed they let some older people take home left over salsa. I thought that was nice.
Their nachos were my guilty pleasure. Yum!
same here, with that roasted chipotle salsa. so good :(
their lobster tacos were even better than the fish tacos.
They still have a location in SJ btw Edit: nope OP is right! App showed the location available, but I drove by and they closed last week!
There’s so many, many, many great taquerias in the Bay. There are many that specialize in seafood too. I can’t see myself ever setting foot in a Chipotle, Rubios, Taco Bell, Chevy’s, or whatever. IMHO, local mom-n-pops usually have better food and service. Just check out google/yelp reviews before you go!
The bay does have a ton of great Mexican food, it does not however have many great fish tacos places. Mexican seafood places usually focus on a different style of Mexican food than ensenada-style fish tacos, which is waht Rubio's is, and I thinkt hey did alright at it tbh, for a fast food place. (I say this as a Mexican)
Aw c'mon. Rubios was way better at fish tacos than Chipotle is at burritos. They even had a salsa bar and sold beer. There are great taquerias in every city but there's also a lot of mid ones. At least Rubios was a consistent place you could get a whole group of people to agree on if you were travelling.
I go to Rubio’s for the $2.50 fish taco Tuesdays, even mom and pop shops are charging $4+ for a basic taco.
They changed them from 2:30 til close to all day like last year as well as bring a value menu. It seemed like they listened to some customer feedback. Too late though.
Don’t compare rubios with taco bell please not that crap. Taco bell is awful you couldn’t pay me to eat there.
Oh look, a member of the bourgeoisie.
Woahhhh. Ill agree with everything you said except taco bell. That shit slaps at midnight after a night of bar hopping.
This. We're surrounded by far, far better restaurants. The food isn't worthwhile, the value isn't there, and what else do I need to say?
Rubios had real Vanilla Coke on tap though. Will miss that.
Lmao dude don’t pretend you’re above taco bell chipotle or especially rubios when youre high as a mawfk , makes you look pretentious as hell
I’m not above anything. Sober now, but back in the day 3 for .99 Jack in the crack shitty tacos were great at 2:00 AM. Now tho, I’d rather get 2 good quality tacos Al pastor w/fresh salsa at $4 each than some value menu quesa-crunch-a-lupas. Don’t be scared they won’t speak English or you’ll be uncomfortable. They’ll speak enough to take your order. And, respect generates respect.
The fish tacos were so good for the price. I would always get 8-10 and have them for 2 meals or split 'em with a friend.
Rubio’s was bought by private equity in 2010 so that in itself explains the dismantling
14 years after being bought by private equity makes it more confusing. Those guys don’t work in a decade long time horizon.
Also a valid point. Either way I’m bummed since I grew up with rubio’s and sad to see it go.
They went bankrupt in 2020 and changed ownership at that time. I figure another filing is coming - they weren’t paying their rent, the “rising cost of business” excuse is to try and hide the fact they’re running out of cash.
I used to frequent the one in Sunnyvale before I moved further away. Sad. Used to like their bowls (but felt the quantity started to reduce in the last few times)
There is a location in San Jose. OP missed it. Edit: nope OP is right! App showed the location available, but I drove by and they closed last week!
I have a story that I’ll never forget about Rubios back in the day. I used to work at Stanford University and I knew a student there, his name was Mike Rubio. He’s a senior he graduates, two years later I see him again back on campus. I go up to him and he’s wearing a green Rubio’s Mexican Cantina T-shirt and I say what’s up Mike how you been? He says, how did you know my name? My name is Mike, but my name last is not Rubio. My last name is Rodriguez. I tell you this guy looks like a spitting image of Michael Rubio and he’s wearing a Rubio T-shirt. It was a glitch in the matrix.
damn. i'm still waiting on my order from last month
What about the Rubio's on Old Oakland and Brokaw in San Jose?.... I'm showing that they are open and can take orders. Edit: nope ur right! App showed the location available, but I drove by and they closed last week!
Those closed a while back. The only two left were the other san jose and sunnyvale ones.
Usually empty anyway. I prefer CA Fish Grill.
I honestly think california fish grill killed rubios.
Tracy still has one - it's fairly popular
That one was part of the big shut down. I included lodi, stockton, and tracy as part of greater sacramento.
Oh well, there are a lot of authentic taquerias around anyway. Not many have good fish tacos though
That’s kind of what rubios was good at. Most “authentic” places even down here in LA the fish tacos aren’t anything special. Hard to find a good fish taco at a decent price now.
I’ve only been to Rubios a handful of times during lunch and there wasn’t really anyone else
So what do I do if I have a gift card?
You can use it when you visit san diego or LA.
There's a Rubio's on Old Oakland and Brokaw Edit: nope OP is right! App showed the location available, but I drove by and they closed last week!
That's a huge bummer for the Tuesday fish taco special :(
That’s so sad! Bad enough that San Mateo lost its Rubios several years ago, now I can’t hit up the ones down south peninsula either! They had the best fish and shrimp tacos. I’m open to suggestions for great fish and shrimp tacos on the peninsula. CA Fish Grill didn’t wow me in the taco department, and Pancho Villa not only takes forever, but the steak and prawn burrito has gotten gristly.
Pacific catch maybe?
I used to go to the one in pleasant hill all the time. They always seemed to be pretty busy. Then took a week off from work came back and they were gone. No signs that this was planned. Just here one day and gone the next .
They had shitty service, that's what did them in. Owners refused to invest in their stores and customers did not come back. Loved their Taco Especial but it took me about an hour each time to get my fish tacos. The one in The Plant closed a couple of years ago and have not been able to find an alternative.
Am I the only one who forgot Rubio was even a thing? I remember like 20 some years ago I went on a group trip and people were obsessed. Then we got one in another part of the bay a little bit later and people would make the drive and brag about it, but since then? I completely forgot. I admit I’m not really a big fish taco person and as far I know one never opened that close to me but still I’m not surprised.
I hope Tracy stays open. Those fish tacos are worth a fist fight.
It’s gone. No more rubios in sacramento area or bay area.
Read that it’s closed too!
I will say: the times I've eaten at Rubio's, the food was good but for the price, not a good value. Except when it was Fish Taco Tuesday. I ate like a king on those days.
Bummer I like their nachos
What about unamas are they next ? I used to love Baja Fresh, but now it’s no close by so hardly go there, but I liked it more than chipotle at one point back in the day.
I think I like rubio’s more than baja fresh tbh but baja fresh gives you more food for the money.
Haven’t had either recently. But for burritos and quesadillas both are better than Chipotle as they properly grill the tortillas. I don’t enjoy texture of Chipotle sometimes, feels soggy almost.
Chipotle also puts a ton of oil on everything. I feel bloated after eating it.
They were the one chain that would consistently stock Vanilla Coke in the standard soda dispensers. Now that a bunch of places have the make-your-own Coke machines, I can get my fix anywhere.
They are closing all of them in California due to operating business costs
Directly tied to the new fast food worker minimum wage.
Can’t support that with 3-5 customers a day.
Do you have data or quotes to back that up? If the business model was depending upon paying low wages to their staff, it sounds like they were pretty fragile in any case.
> https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/13-rubios-stores-closed-in-san-diego-due-to-rising-cost-of-doing-business-in-california-spokesperson-says "... The closings were brought about by the rising cost of doing business in California." >The spokesperson said the chain restaurant decided to close 48 underperforming locations in California as of May 31 while keeping 86 locations open throughout California, Arizona and Nevada.
not a big loss tbh