CARLSBAD, Calif. — Rubio’s Coastal Grill has closed 48 locations in California.
The Southern California-based home of the fish taco closed 48 locations as of Friday due to the rising costs of business in the state, Rubio’s told ABC10 in a statement Saturday.
“Making the decision to close a store is never an easy one,” the statement said. “Rubio’s Coastal Grill…after a thorough review of its operations and the current business climate, has decided to close 48 underperforming locations in California as of May 31, while keeping 86 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada open.”
The business said while the closings are painful, they are a necessary step.
The following Sacramento-area locations are reportedly closed:
- 3551 Truxel Road, Suite 1, Sacramento, CA 95834
- 3221 Zinfandel Drive, B1, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
- 2776 E Bidwell St., #100, Folsom, CA 95630
- 4359 Town Center Blvd., #108, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
- 9624 Bruceville Road, Suite 102, Elk Grove, CA 95757
- 1515 Lower Sacramento Road, Suite 120, Lodi, CA 95242
- 1913 Douglas Blvd., Roseville CA 95661
6706 Stanford Ranch Road, Suite 3, Roseville, CA 95678
Of 48 locations closed, 11 were in Northern California, 24 were closed in the Los Angeles area and 13 were in San Diego, the business said.
The Rubio’s formerly located in the El Dorado Hills Town Center reportedly failed to pay rent for a few months before closing and has an ongoing dispute with the landlord, according to Dawn Bricker, a town center spokeswoman.
Bricker said the center’s property management 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.
The business 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,” she said.
Rubio’s confirmed its location in El Dorado Hills is closed. The business declined to comment on the town center’s plans to pursue legal action.
Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association, told ABC10 that Rubio's closings are an early glimpse into what California consumers 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 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.
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