Mexican food chain El Torito closed its Santa Barbara location at 29 E. Cabrillo Boulevard on Monday because it could not secure a long-term lease, according to a spokesperson from its parent company, Real Mex Restaurants.
The ocean-facing restaurant, whose Yelp reviews date back to 2007, bordered the Cabrillo Boulevard Bridge project and neighbored La Entrada hotel’s construction site. In 2014, El Torito was one of four city restaurants to be cited for selling alcohol to minors undercover with the Santa Barbara police.
Customers who call the Santa Barbara restaurant now receive an automated message stating, “Unfortunately we have closed our business.” They are directed to El Torito’s nearest location at 1720 E. Ventura Boulevard in Oxnard, where a manager said Monday they had just found out about the closure. The manager also said the Santa Barbara closure comes after two El Torito locations in Ventura and Thousand Oaks shut down.