This California Mexican Chain Only Has One Location Standing After 6 Decades

Mother's Day, or Dia de las Madres for those who speak Spanish, should be a time of celebration. That's a prime day for restaurants (try getting a last-minute reservation) — and in Southern California, the favorite Mother's Day pick was Acapulco Restaurant y Cantina. Acapulco locations have been shutting down for years now, but it was still a shock when, just one day after Mother's Day, the closure of the Glendale, California Acapulco was announced. With that, the 66-year-old Acapulco Restaurant y Cantina will be down to only one location.

In 1960, Ray Marshall opened the first Acapulco in Pasadena, California. He fell in love with Mexican food in Denver, but it was in Los Angeles as a chef at the Biltmore Hotel where he learned the most. His Mexican American coworkers introduced him to local Mexican restaurants and invited him to eat in their homes. Those experiences helped him develop the menu for Acapulco, giving it an authenticity often missing from chain restaurants.

Acapulco reached a peak of 39 locations throughout Southern California. The recession of 2008 took a toll on the company and ownership group Real Mex Restaurants, which began downsizing until it filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Its new owners, Xperience XRG Restaurant Group, continued the aggressive closures that brought Acapulco down to one final location.

The Glendale Acapulco closure prompted several emotional comments on the company's Instagram announcement post. Instagram user @l.a_eyes stated, "Acapulco was a hit in our childhoods." Another user, @trainwreckorchestra said, "I moved here to Glendale nearly 15 years ago on August 13, 2011 and had my first celebratory meal here that same evening." But the most poignant comment came from @frisko213: "For decades, Acapulcos (employees) bring joy to so many and a sense of community."

What made Acapulco different from other chains was its ability to connect with the people of the neighborhoods it served. Its Downey location transformed into a club on the weekends, catering to the millennial and younger Gen X, mostly Latine residents of the area. The Acapulco where Sunset and Hollywood boulevards meet was a family-oriented location that held many graduation parties and similar events for years. 

The restaurant business is tough, with thin profit margins and sales highly susceptible to economic downturns. Since the pandemic, several restaurant chains have gone under and others are at risk of similar fates. It's sad to see Acapulco go, because its connection to the Southern California community is one most chain restaurants can only envy from afar.