In a case of out-with-the-old and in-with-the-new, the site of what was once Taco Libre has now become Taco 1986. Situated in the heart of the tourist district in Santa Monica, right across from the Santa Monica Pier bridge, this is the seventh outlet the chain has opened in southern California, the others being Studio City, Pasadena, Beverly Grove, Burbank, Downtown Los Angeles and Westwood Village.
Both co-founders Victor Delgado and Jorge Alvarez were born in 1986 — which is where the name comes from — and grew up in Tijuana, without a doubt, one of the best food cities in Mexico. Alvarez, who the Los Angeles Times called "the Freddie Mercury of taqueros" says an eighth outlet, at an as yet undisclosed location, will hopefully be opening soon.
The popularity of Tijuana-style tacos has been steadily growing in recent years across Los Angeles and the efforts of both Delgado and Alvarez have played an invaluable part. When their first Tijuana-style carne asada and adobada stand opened in Hollywood in November 2018, former LA Dodger first baseman Adrián González posted a video on his Instagram account within the first week of it being open.
They both fully appreciate that it’s necessary to offer vegetarian and chicken options in addition to the more traditional offerings, even though they’re not typically found in Tijuana.
"Hopefully people know our name by now, they know we are an authentic Los Angeles taqueria and we want to bring the very best from Tijuana and create something that everyone can enjoy," Alvarez says.
In time, this outlet, located next to arguably the busiest scramble crosswalk in the city at Ocean and Colorado Avenues, will also serve beer.
"We will be serving the coldest beer and the freshest micheladas in the city of Santa Monica," laughs Alvarez. "We’re most likely gonna go with a very specific brand, a Los Angeles brand and we have another Mexican beer that we also want to work with."
According to Delgado, they expect to serve a thousand customers per day during peak season and the only days that the eatery will be closed will be Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tacos 1986 at 135 Colorado Avenue is open everyday from 11am to 10pm.
