The interior of Rubio's new flagship location
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By Ed Avis
When a fire destroyed the Oceanside, California location of Rubio’s Coastal Grill in 2021, there wasn’t much left to salvage. The landlord tore the building down to the foundation. But that gave Rubio’s an opportunity: Now they’ve built a new flagship restaurant from the ground up on the site.
The restaurant will celebrate a grand opening of the new location on March 28. The design, which will serve as a prototype for future updates of Rubio’s locations, was inspired by “the Baja taco stands where Rubio’s Co-Founder Ralph Rubio first experienced fish tacos during spring break as a college student 41 years ago,” according to a press release.
Features of the location, which is just over 2,500 square feet and has 48 interior seats and 24 patio seats, include:
- Authentic materials one would find in Baja – tile banquette, corrugated metal, cinder block wall construction, saltillo tile, decorative cinder breeze blocks
- Gallery wall with origin/history images of Rubio’s trips to Baja
- Order counter with corrugated metal in the background
- Center banquette with tile backing and wood beam ceiling overhead
- Basket pendants
- Designated area for the signature salsa bar, featuring Mexican tile backsplash
The graphic wall décor in the flagship restaurant was created by Flint Finlinson from branding agency Propaganda and the interior design came from Melissa Young of MyStudio ID.
“Our goal in creating a flagship Rubio’s in Oceanside was to connect our signature Baja-inspired food, centered around our best-selling Original Fish Taco®, with laid-back, beach vibes reflective of the Baja lifestyle,” said Rubio in the release. “We wanted to create a warm, distinctively Rubio’s dining experience for the supportive Oceanside community to come back, relax and enjoy. We can’t wait to welcome everyone.”
Rubio’s is donating 50 percent of all proceeds during its grand opening party to the Boys & Girls Club of Oceanside. The party is open to everyone and will feature live music all day, giveaways, free ice cream tacos and a family friendly ocean craft table for kids of all ages. Plus, during opening week, new Rewards members will receive an exclusive “thank you” surprise offer after purchase.
Rubio’s has locations across California, Arizona and Nevada. For more information about Rubio’s Coastal Grill, visit Rubio’s, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
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