Roberto's Taco Shop is a chain of Mexican restaurants in California and Nevada, with locations primarily in San Diego and the Las Vegas Valley. It is based in Las Vegas, and it had 77 locations as of 2020. The company originated with a tortilleria that was founded in San Ysidro, San Diego in 1964, by Roberto Robledo and his wife Dolores. They subsequently purchased several restaurants, before renaming them Roberto's Taco Shop around 1970. The chain expanded to the Las Vegas Valley in 1990, and was also operating in Miami by the end of the decade. History Roberto's Taco Shop was founded in 1964, by Roberto Robledo (1928–1999) and his wife Dolores (1930–2020). They had immigrated from Mexico to California in the 1950s. The couple had 13 children, and Roberto Robledo often worked two or three jobs to support the family. In the early 1960s, Roberto Robledo purchased a tortilla maker for $30. He also acquired two adjacent houses in San Ysidro, San Diego, near the Mexican border. One of the houses was used for the Robledo family, while the other was converted into a tortilleria, opened in 1964. The family began making tortillas and selling them to the public. They subsequently expanded their service, delivering tortillas to restaurants in San Diego. They also delivered to agents of the United States Border Patrol who worked at an immigrant holding facility in the area. The idea to open a quick-service Mexican restaurant came after agents asked Dolores Robledo if she could provide rice and beans with the tortillas. The family purchased four restaurants during the 1960s, but retained the existing names. Roberto Robledo's first restaurant, La Lomita, was purchased in the late 1960s, and it used his wife's recipes. Each of the newly acquired restaurants served Mexican food. Around 1970, the Robledos purchased a fifth restaurant known as Jesse's, which had previously sold hamburgers. At the suggestion of Dolores, the five restaurants were renamed Roberto's Taco Shop, after her husband. Roberto's became one of the first taco chains in the United States. The Robledos' older children helped run the business and they each took over a restaurant in later years. The business is family owned, and franchises are usually not sold to the public. During the mid-1970s, Roberto Robledo rented one of his taco shops to his cousins. A dispute occurred when the cousins did not prepare fresh batches of rice