How Roberto’s Taco Shop became a Southwest chain, phenomenon
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Roberto’s, Alberto’s, Filiberto’s, Juanberto’s … If you have lived in or around the Southwest states, chances are you’ve seen a variation of a “Berto’s” Mexican fast-food restaurant, the majority possessing an identifiable orange and yellow color scheme and a logo in a cursive font.
Over the years, variations of the restaurant — we’ll explain how and why there are so many — are commonly defined by its carne asada burritos, beef tacos and rolled taco combination plates, among other savory Mexican food items.
It’s hard to miss and what you see is what you usually get anywhere there may be one.
The concept originates from Roberto’s Taco Shop, a family-owned fast-food restaurant that initially opened its doors to San Diego in the late 1960s.
The founders were Roberto, the shop’s namesake, and Dolores Robledo, who immigrated from the small town of San Juan del Salado in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.
One of the nation’s first Mexican fast-food chains, the family-run Roberto’s Taco Shop introduced an innovative blueprint that would spur copycats and imitators in the Southwest and even abroad.
More than 70 variations have been reported across the Southwest states and the majority are owned by people who originate from the same region in Mexico that the Robledos are from. Roberto would encourage family members to work with him and eventually advocated for them to open their own shops once they got familiar with the system he helped establish.
“My father was from the frame of thought that this is the land of opportunity. And if you’re willing to work hard, there’s enough business to go around,” recalled Jose Robledo, 52, the youngest of the 13 Robledo children. “He was always there to lend a helping hand to everybody who wanted to get into the business.”
An American immigrant dream
Roberto first came to the United States in the mid 1940s under the Bracero program, which allowed millions of Mexican men to legally work in the country through short-term labor contracts. He would later hold multiple jobs, including being a waiter, working in construction and washing cars on the weekends. When he brought his wife and their children over, Dolores would pack sardines at a cannery and wash hotel industry towels for a linen company.
In 1964, the family purchased two adjacent homes in San Ysidro, near the US-Mexico border. One house was where they lived, the other was converted into a tortilla factory to make corn and flour tortillas to deliver to other restaurants. They also sold bean and cheese burritos, chile verde (green chile) burritos and chile colorado burritos at that time.
“At first, that’s all they sold,” said Reynaldo Robledo, 57, the 12th of the Robledo children.
The Robledos would eventually acquire four businesses and operate them under the original establishment names such as La Lomita and El Gallito.
It wasn’t until the fifth shop they purchased, a hamburger joint, that they would rename it “Roberto’s #5” under Roberto’s name.
“It was the first Roberto’s … from there forward, all the restaurants we opened were Roberto’s Taco Shop,” said Reynaldo, who grew up working in the family business as a cook.
The business became a rite of passage for Reynaldo and his siblings; at the same time, his father encouraged workers from his ranch to open their own shops.
Reynaldo has franchised Roberto’s Taco Shop in Nevada and says there are 60 stores in the region. Plus, there are also 20 shops in California and one in Texas, all owned by the original family.
But that’s just part of it. More than 70 ‘Berto’ variations have been documented across the Southwest — and there’s a possibility there are more that aren’t using the “Berto’s” namesake, according to several family members.
“All of those people are from where my dad’s from,” Reynaldo said.
While other shop owners may become upset about people copying and imitating their own restaurant, Roberto welcomes it.
From Roberto’s to Alberto’s
Here’s how the “Berto’s” variation came about.
Roberto prided himself on the fact the restaurants served fresh food made daily, a standard he held at all of the shops he owned and rented others to — and one that continues today by his children. When Roberto found out that relatives weren’t serving food with fresh ingredients at one shop they rented from him, he wasn’t too happy.
“My dad told them to change the name. And that’s where Alberto’s came,” Reynaldo said referring to the first variant. “The saying goes that on their
