With two locations Los Angeles and one in Orange County already thriving, Tacomasa will debut its fourth outpost in Brea in late June or July.
The eatery, known for its Tijuana tacos, quesadillas, burritos and fresh, handmade corn tortillas, is the brainchild of 39-year-old restauranteur Ivan Flores. His portfolio includes Blue Burro, a burrito taqueria, and the Buffalo Spot, a fast-casual franchise serving chicken wings, buffalo fries and shakes, which Flores grew to roughly 40 locations before selling.
“I grew up in Tijuana, California, with my grandparents and my mom,” he shared in an interview. “I grew up in both sides, actually, Tijuana and San Ysidro.”
Flores, a Garden Grove resident, notes that Tijuana tacos, distinguished, in part, by being cooked over mesquite, are considered the most popular food in the region. “That’s what we grew up with, tacos for breakfast, tacos for lunch and tacos dinner — it’s always been part of our culture,” he said. “And going into the restaurant industry, one of my dreams was to bring that culture into one of my brands. I’ve always had Tacomasa on my mind.”
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In 2021, the restauranteur opened his first Tacomasa in Long Beach, followed by locations in El Segundo and Cypress.
When asked why he chose Brea for his newest location, he said, “I feel this is the right community to serve. Our product is needed in that area, where we found a great location and a great property management. The demographic is right for our product, and we’re ready to serve that community.”
With meats cooked over mesquite, menu highlights at Tacomasa include asada, adobada, nopal, pollo asado, tripa and lengua tacos; mulitas (two crisped tortilla sandwiching meat, cheese or other fillings); vampiros (featuring a single-tortilla cooked on a grill until it turns crisp and crunchy); tortas; quesadillas; fries; elote; drinks (ranging from soda staples, like Pepsi and Orange Crush, to horchata and agua de jamaica).
Flores says he came up with Tacomasa’s menu, influenced by his childhood between in San Diego and Mexico. “They’re inspired from taquerias in Tijuana,” he said. “And we pulled up some family recipes, and we ended up running with it.”
Tacomasa will open inside the former Roll Em Up Taquitos site at 275 W. Birch St. in Brea.