Following two significant burglaries last year, Guerrilla Tacos announced its last day of service will be January 31st, 2025. The closure of this once revolutionary taquería sent shockwaves through L.A.'s Taco Life.
The expressions of disappointment have been many.
"Y’all literally elevated and changed the entire Taco game in L.A. and influenced the entire world. I truly hate this post-Covid economy we’re in and what it and politicians have done to the industry," commented Barney Santos, the founder of BLVD MRKT in Montebello.
"💔 SO sad - truly a landmark in [the] Arts District & inspiration for what L.A. dining is," commented @Campoecarbon, a modern Mexican pop-up that recently held a collaboration dinner on the back patio of Guerrilla Tacos.
Guerrilla Tacos, opened by fine dining chef-turned-street-vendor-turned-taquero Wes Avila, first received praise by Jonathan Gold in the L.A. Times in 2014.
"If the menu gods are with you, you can do pretty well that way — carnitas made from slow-roasted Cook Pig Ranch pork shoulder is really, really good carnitas, and the tart, scorching tomatillo purée is a step up from even the best green salsas in East L.A."
It was one of the big three in L.A.'s modern Mexican "Alta California" taco movement, along with Taco Maria by Carlos Salgado and Broken Spanish by Ray Garcia. Both of which have also shuttered.
"Now that it’s our time to say goodbye, all I feel is pride in what we did for the last seven years," wrote Brittney Valles, the co-owner of Guerrilla Tacos who kept the cutting-edge taquería alive after its founding taquero left in 2020, on Instagram. [Chef Crystal Espinoza stepped in to fill Avila's role]. "I feel sadness that I’m not going to see my favorite people everyday at work and mostly, I am excited for what the future has to hold. We are closing because this chapter has come to an end. We wanted to make sure to close in a way that is healthy, and we can support our staff through the transition. As we are in a delicate climate for restaurants, one unfortunate event could have made a healthy transition impossible."
Guerrilla Tacos was one of the city's first sit-down taquerías that offered a farmers market-led approach to tacos alongside a full cocktail menu. Now, the only modern Mexican restaurants to have a full liquor license left in the city are places like Damian and A Tí.
"For sure, Wes Avila changed the game when it came to what a taco could be; his creativity and the use of avant-garde ingredients was hugely inspiring to me. Wishing the best to the Guerilla Tacos family," says Jimmy Tapia, the chef behind Tigres Fuegos in Redondo Beach. He has an Avila-inspired sweet potato taco at his taqueria in tribute to Guerrilla Tacos.
"I always tell people I live in 2016 still when it comes to restaurants," says Andrew Ponce, who just secured a permanent spot in Silver Lake for his contemporary concept, A Tí. "Guerrilla Tacos was definitely for me in the forefront. They catered our company party when I was at Bestia and that sweet potato taco was life changing. Also why I have a sweet potato taco on my menu."
In her announcement, Valles writes, "I truly hope to see you all on our little corner one last time."
