Shopping center new home for Tacos El Franc USA

Tacos El Franc, a taqueria widely known in Tijuana for its bold flavors and culinary tradition, is set to open its first U.S. location this month of May at Westfield Plaza Bonita.

Founded in 1974 by Javier Valadez as a street cart, the business evolved into a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 1996. Since then, it now draws thousands of guests weekly and has grown into a local landmark, earning recognition from the Michelin Guide and appearing in the Netflix series “Taco Chronicles.” The restaurant is especially known for its adobada and carne asada, both grilled over charcoal and served with fresh avocado and house-made salsas.

The new location in National City will bring the same menu, ingredients and preparation methods that made the Tijuana spot a destination for food lovers across the region. The team behind the U.S. expansion said the goal is to faithfully recreate the original taqueria experience while sharing the unique flavor and quality of authentic Tijuana tacos with a broader audience.

Co-owner Roberto Kelly, who first visited Tacos El Franc as a teenager, spent over two decades building a relationship with the Valadez family before partnering with them to introduce the U.S. branch. The launch is also in partnership with restauranteur Salvador Lombroso.

He described the expansion as both an honor and a responsibility, noting the importance of maintaining the legacy of the brand as it enters a new market.

Kelly said many people from the United States regularly cross the border just to eat at Tacos El Franc. With that in mind, he believed that if the taqueria were to ever expand into the U.S. and if Valadez allowed it, it had to be done the right way, with quality and the preservation of original recipes and flavors as the top priorities.

“We’re protecting that the quality doesn’t change, the flavor doesn’t change, and that the products that we use in the U.S. are the exact same products that we use in Mexico,” he said. “We were able to accomplish that and very soon will be able to show that to San Diego.”

The new space at Westfield Plaza Bonita will feature counter seating, traditional dining tables, high-top areas and a bar serving Mexican beer, micheladas and clamatos. A master taquero trained in the Tijuana tradition will be at the grill, ensuring consistency with the original restaurant.

“We needed to make sure that we were in an area where people from different communities could reach us relatively easy,” said Kelly. “We also didn’t want to open a small location. We are opening quite a large location with a lot of parking so customers can easily park and enjoy the food.”

The community has shown nothing but love, said Kelly. He emphasized that the success of Tacos El Franc is not measured by dollars but by the community response and repeat visits, reflecting the customer loyalty seen in Tijuana.

“To us, we’re opening San Diego to make it accessible for a lot of people that don’t cross to Tijuana and that hear from friends and families talking about the food,” he said. “We are extending ourselves to this side of San Diego so that we can keep up the tradition and we can share our product with more people.”

Kelly said the team is already in expansion mode, aiming to deliver an experience that is common in Mexico but still hard to find in the United States. He said the vision for Tacos El Franc goes beyond a single location in America, with plans to share the experience of enjoying an authentic Tijuana taco with as many communities as possible. Additional locations are expected later this year, with projections already in place for further growth in 2026.

Tacos El Franc USA will open at 3030 Plaza Bonita Road, Space 1108, in National City. For more information, visit www.tacoselfrancusa.com or follow @tacoselfrancusa on Instagram.