Rubio's Coastal Grill employees took to social media over the weekend to lament the closures of dozens of California restaurants that have taken them by surprise.
“As of today I am an ex-employee,” Thesil58, a Southern California worker, wrote on Reddit. “When I came to work this morning I was literally told that today would be my last day. No severance, no warning, nothing. I'm not sure exactly which stores will be going away, but it will be a significant number.”
The San Diego County-based chain known for its fish tacos said it would close 48 restaurants in California, citing the state's struggling economy, including its final three locations in the Bay Area, in North San Jose, Sunnyvale and Pleasant Hill.
“The decision to close stores is never easy,” the company said in a statement. “After a thorough review of our business and the current business environment, Rubio's has decided to close 48 underperforming stores in California, effective May 31. The closures are due to rising costs of doing business in California. While painful, the store closures are a necessary step in our strategic, long-term plan to position Rubio's for success for many years to come.”
The majority of the stores that were closed (37) were in Southern California, with 11 in Northern California.
The company, which worked with Los Angeles-based crisis management and public relations firm Sittrick & Co., declined to provide details about the closed restaurants, but by Monday its website had been updated to include most of the locations. The majority of the closures (37) were in Southern California, and 11 were in Northern California.
Rubio's filed for bankruptcy in October 2020 and has been steadily closing stores since then. The company operated 167 stores across Arizona, Nevada and California four years ago. Bloomberg reported that it defaulted on some of its debt in June of that year after pandemic-related closures caused sales to plummet.
That same year, the company permanently closed 26 underperforming stores in California, Arizona, Colorado and Florida.
But the chain was already struggling with obstacles including competition, rising labor costs and unsuccessful expansion into new markets, according to court documents.
The Plant location in San Jose closed last summer.
In April of this year, California enacted a new law (Assembly Bill 1228) that requires fast food chains with 60 or more locations nationwide to pay their employees a minimum wage of $20. The law applies to national chain restaurants that have limited or no table service.
Just a year ago this January, the chain celebrated its 40th anniversary after co-founder Ralph Rubio fell in love with fish tacos on a trip to San Felipe Island in Baja California's Sea of Cortez.
“We camped on the beach, ate fish tacos in town and drank Corona beer. That was my first experience. It was just a Baja custom,” he told SCNG's Fielding Buck last year.
In January, the company hired Hilco Real Estate, a consulting firm often used to help bankrupt companies sell their assets, particularly leased assets.
Rubio's said it would keep 86 stores open in California, Arizona and Nevada.
Bloomberg and Mercury News reporter Linda Zavoral contributed to this report.
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