{"id":201111,"date":"2026-03-02T21:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/201111\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:33:08","slug":"king-taco-seeks-historical-designation-for-its-first-restaurant-nbc-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/201111\/","title":{"rendered":"King Taco seeks historical designation for its first restaurant \u2013 NBC Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Southern California\u2019s longtime Mexican food chain King Taco<\/a> might just go down in history \u2014 the business is seeking historic designation for its original location in the Cypress Park community of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

The Cultural Heritage Commission filed a recommendation<\/a> with the city of Los Angeles in fall 2025 to declare the restaurant, known as King Taco #1, a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM).<\/p>\n

At that time, District 1 LA City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez submitted a letter to the Cultural Heritage Commission in support of the site\u2019s pursuit of historic recognition, calling King Taco #1 \u201ca cornerstone of immigrant entrepreneurship\u201d and \u201ca cultural anchor for the Cypress Park community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"King<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tRaul O. MartinezRaul O. Martinez<\/p>\n

King Taco’s humble beginnings as a food truck in 1974.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 5, the recommendation received full support from the Cultural Heritage Commission by unanimous vote.<\/p>\n

The next step is for the Los Angeles City Council to review the recommendation, which could happen later this month. Councilmember Hernandez\u2019s office told NBC Los Angeles that the City Council has 90 days from the commission\u2019s Feb. 5 action to consider and vote on the designation.<\/p>\n

NBCLA reached out to the Los Angeles Conservancy, which also supports the King Taco #1 HCM designation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Andrew Salimian, Director of Advocacy for the LA Conservancy, said the site \u201creally captures the entrepreneurial spirit of Los Angeles and the contributions of our immigrant communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, how did King Taco #1 become so important to Cypress Park and Los Angeles? Let\u2019s look back.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tRaul O. MartinezRaul O. Martinez<\/p>\n

The Martinezes converted an old ice cream truck in 1974 by adding an oven and grill. Soon, they were selling soft-shell tacos to Angelenos from their buzzy new taco truck.<\/p>\n

The legacy of King Taco in Los Angeles<\/p>\n

King Taco #1 has been located at 1118 Cypress Ave. since 1975. The business was founded in 1974 by Mexican immigrants Raul O. and Maria G. Martinez.<\/p>\n

At first, the Martinezes converted an old ice cream truck into a taco truck, adding a stove and grill to sell fresh, soft-shell tacos straight from the truck. Soon, they moved their business into the building at the corner of Cypress and Roseview avenues.<\/p>\n

According to the LA Conservancy, the Martinez family is credited with popularizing soft-shell tacos in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe business\u2019 ingenuity fueled its success,\u201d Salimian said. \u201cDespite their humble beginnings, the Martinez family was able to introduce authentic Mexican cuisine and helped popularize the soft-shell taco to Angelenos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, King Taco operates 22 locations<\/a> across Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"King<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tRaul O. MartinezRaul O. Martinez<\/p>\n

The original King Taco on Cypress Avenue in 1975, the year the Martinezes moved their business into the building.<\/p>\n

The original King Taco building<\/p>\n

According to the HCM recommendation, the building that houses the original and oldest King Taco location was built in 1948. It was originally located on North Lankershim Boulevard North Hollywood, where it served as an ice cream store and in 1954, a hot dog stand.<\/p>\n

In 1955, the building was moved to North Tujunga Avenue. In 1960, the structure was relocated to its current corner lot location on North Cypress Avenue, where it became a Windy\u2019s restaurant offering \u201chome-cooked lunches\u201d like sandwiches and burgers.<\/p>\n

King Taco moved into the building in 1975, using it as the main kitchen for their growing food truck business.<\/p>\n

The recommendation said the property has been altered several times over the decades to accommodate King Taco\u2019s quick growth, including a couple of additions that added to its square footage, awning additions, and a new pole sign added in 1988.<\/p>\n

Still, the recommendation notes that the building \u201cretains most physical elements from the period of significance\u201d and its historic character and aesthetic.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tJessamin AvalosJessamin Avalos<\/p>\n

King Taco’s original location in Cypress Park in 2024.<\/p>\n

The importance of King Taco\u2019s historic recognition<\/p>\n

Per the HCM nomination, the original King Taco meets this important Cultural Heritage Ordinance criteria: \u201c[It] is identified with important events of national, state, or local history, or exemplifies significant contributions to the broad cultural, economic, or social history of the nation, state, or community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior Architectural Historian Alexandra Perlman works with the Historic Resources Group<\/a> (HRG) in Pasadena. She authored the recommendation for King Taco #1 and credits the local staple for \u201cgalvanizing a new food scene in Los Angeles and forever changing the city\u2019s cultural identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perlman told NBCLA the designation of King Taco #1 recognizes and honors Mexican immigrant entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

\u201cProperties that commemorate Los Angeles’s Latino heritage are disproportionately underrepresented in the city\u2019s list of designated historic-cultural monuments,\u201d Perlman told NBCLA. \u201cThese sites are also increasingly threatened, making their recognition all the more important. The designation of King Taco is not only crucial for understanding and preserving Mexican culinary history in Los Angeles but also strives to achieve equity in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tJessamin AvalosJessamin Avalos<\/p>\n

King Taco’s original location in 2024.<\/p>\n

Last week, Councilmember Hernandez also told NBCLA the original King Taco defined a piece of LA food history and is a cornerstone of immigrant entrepreneurship in District 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when Latino families who were displaced by freeway construction began rebuilding community in Northeast LA, King Taco became a cultural anchor rooted in resilience and pride,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cRaul and Maria Martinez helped redefine the Los Angeles taco and, in doing so, reshaped the city\u2019s food culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our current political climate where immigrants are actively being attacked, scapegoated, or erased, recognizing King Taco as a Historic-Cultural Monument sends a clear message: Immigrants built LA,\u201d the councilmember added. \u201cPreserving this site honors that truth and protects it for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that these beloved legacy businesses be recognized for their contributions, and designation helps document and celebrate L.A.\u2019s rich history,\u201d Salimian also told NBCLA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Southern California\u2019s longtime Mexican food chain King Taco might just go down in history \u2014 the business is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[387,1339,48,52,51,47,50,49,412],"class_list":{"0":"post-201111","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-food-drink","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-headlines","12":"tag-la-news","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","15":"tag-los-angeles-news","16":"tag-restaurants"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}