{"id":262536,"date":"2026-04-11T11:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/262536\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T11:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:03:11","slug":"popular-san-diego-taco-chain-does-damage-control-over-ceos-maga-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/262536\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular San Diego taco chain does damage control over CEO’s MAGA ties"},"content":{"rendered":"

A popular taco shop<\/a> with more than 80 locations across California, Nevada<\/a> and Texas is in some hot water over its CEO\u2019s supposed political views \u2014\u00a0and customers on social media are calling for a boycott.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0TikTok user with the handle @harrie385, whose bio states that she exposes \u201cLatino MAGA businesses,\u201d posted a video<\/a> this week alleging that Roberto\u2019s Taco Shop CEO Reynaldo Robledo holds pro-Donald Trump and\u00a0pro-MAGA views, pointing to posts made by an account in Robledo\u2019s name on social media sites including Facebook. Roberto\u2019s Taco Shop is especially popular in San Diego, where Robledo\u2019s parents opened the first location in 1964 after operating a tortilla factory<\/a>; the shop is among those often credited with inventing the California burrito<\/a>. The chain also has a strong presence in Las Vegas<\/a>, with dozens of franchise locations there and farther north in Reno.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0TikTok post garnered more than 76,000 views and more than 500 comments, and it may have led to a Facebook page in Robledo\u2019s name<\/a> being scrubbed of all posts.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid this CEO forget that all of his restaurants are based on Mexican dishes, who wouldn\u2019t have made it here without the immigrants that are currently being affected by the current administration that you are supporting?\u201d the March 8 video asks.<\/p>\n

A Facebook group called A Strong Nevada also\u00a0shared a post<\/a> Thursday that called for a boycott, saying, \u201cDid you know that Reynaldo\u00a0Robledo, the CEO of Roberto’s Taco Shop is a huge MAGA supporter and supports ICE! Looks like you won’t be getting our business anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n

A\u00a0transcript of a meeting<\/a> between Robledo and Trump at a 2020 Latinos for Trump roundtable seems to further acknowledge the taco shop owner\u2019s political beliefs. \u201cWe love the work you\u2019re doing. We love what you\u2019ve done for us,\u201d Robledo says in the conversation, adding that it\u2019s the third time that he and Trump have met.<\/p>\n

The Nevada arm of the company responded to the social media frenzy by issuing\u00a0an Instagram statement<\/a> on Thursday that read: \u201cRoberto\u2019s Taco Shop is proud to be a Latino-owned and operated franchise that serves diverse communities across Nevada. While our CEO may hold personal political beliefs, it is important to note that each of our 49 franchisees operate their stores independently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe day-to-day operations and livelihoods of our 600 team members reflect the hard work, values, and cultural heritage of families, many of whom are Latino immigrants, who are dedicated to serving their local communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

SFGATE reached out to Roberto\u2019s Taco Shop for comment but did not hear back before publication.<\/p>\n

One Instagram user commented, \u201cWe vote everyday with our wallet. I won\u2019t be back until he steps down. Luckily, there are many other fantastic Mexican restaurants in Vegas that honor their roots.\u201d<\/p>\n