EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — Rubio’s Coastal Grill locations in El Dorado Hills and Folsom are reportedly closed.
They closed last week, the restaurant chain told ABC10 in a statement Thursday. Rubio’s cited rising costs of doing business in California as the reason for the closings.
The location in the El Dorado Hills Town Center reportedly failed to pay rent for a few months, and the center’s property management said it issued a three-day pay-or-quit notice to Rubio’s headquarters in Southern California. If rent wasn’t paid within three days — an eviction notice was to be issued, according to Dawn Bricker, a town center spokeswoman.
Rubio’s in the town center was open for one more day after the pay-or-quit notice was delivered, then it posted a notice of its own at the location May 23: it was permanently closed, Bricker said. A security guard reportedly saw the sign and informed property management.
“They ducked and ran in the night, basically,” Bricker said.
She said the Rubio’s location in the town center opened as part of a corporate deal and was not owned by a franchisee. The chain said it was hiring a third party to pay rent, which is why the town center allegedly provided leeway regarding payments for a few months, Bricker said.
Rubio’s allegedly tried to clear out the space after closing, prompting property management to call their attorneys and scramble to keep them from doing so, she said.
Bricker said management intends to pursue legal action in civil court for damages.
“We see our tenants as partners. They didn’t treat it as a partnership,” Bricker said.
Rubio’s declined to comment on the town center’s plans to pursue legal action.
Bricker said the center has multiple offers to backfill the space and it will quickly be re-leased.
Four attempts to contact property management at the Broadstone Marketplace in Folsom, which housed the Rubio’s location on East Bidwell Street, were unsuccessful.
Jot Condie is the president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association. He said Rubio's closings are an early glimpse into what every California consumer could expect if the statewide $18 minimum wage ballot measure is approved by voters in November.
“Daily headlines have chronicled job losses, reduced working hours, restaurant closures and higher prices for California’s inflation-weary consumers as a direct result of this minimum wage hike,” Condie said. “Feedback from our members suggests this has become a breaking point for many small restaurant businesses.”
Rubio’s has locations in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Sacramento-area locations still open include:
- 3551 Truxel Road, Suite 1, Sacramento, CA 95834
- 9624 Bruceville Road, Suite 102, Elk Grove, CA 95757
- 3221 Zinfandel Drive, #B1, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- 1913 Douglas Blvd., Roseville CA 95661
- 6706 Stanford Ranch Road, Suite 3, Roseville, CA 95678
There are also locations in Lodi, Stockton and Tracy.
Rubio’s Coastal Grill was founded by Ralph Rubio in 1983 in San Diego. It is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and employs anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people, according to the company’s LinkedIn page.
For more ABC10 news and weather coverage on your time, stream ABC10+ on your TV for free:
► Roku - click here
► Amazon Fire - click here
► Apple TV - click here
