“Our promise to source quality ingredients started when we opened the first Rubio’s restaurant in San Diego more than 30 years ago. It’s always been important to us that our guests feel good about what they are eating, and that starts with the ingredients we use.”
- Ralph Rubio, Rubio’s co-founder
About Rubio’s
Rubio’s is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain with over 150 locations in California, Arizona and Nevada. In 1983, Rubio’s introduced the Baja-style fish taco to the United States. Today, Rubio’s offers a differentiated menu of seafood-based tacos, burritos and bowls with modern Mexican flavorings.
Mill Road began building a public equity position in Rubio’s in 2008 and over the subsequent two years established a strong relationship with the company and a deep understanding of its operations, increasing its public position commensurate with these efforts. When the Rubio’s received a hostile takeover bid in 2010, Mill Road was well positioned with low cost stock and longstanding relationships to successfully take the company private as a white knight bidder.
Mill Road has worked with management to elevate Rubio’s from a “quick-service” restaurant with a fried fish specialty to a quality-driven fast casual chain with healthful, sustainably sourced, chef-crafted seafood offerings. Rubio’s award-winning food is regularly recognized by both local and national publications including USA Today (Best Fish Taco 2018) and Consumers Reports (America’s Best Mexican Restaurant Chain 2014).