Downtown’s Favorite Taco Shop, Sonoratown, Expands Into Next Door Space

Every day, almost around the clock, the line for Downtown smash hit Sonoratown spills out from the small glass storefront and onto the sidewalk. The tall, thin taco-eating tables have long given up trying to hold the crowds, so now owners Jennifer Feltham and Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez are going to expand next door.

There’s still paper up on the windows directly to the right of Sonoratown’s front door, but soon they’ll be peeled back to reveal a space that, well, looks a lot like Sonoratown. The painters seamlessly matched the light green wall color and shiny white tile, but just about everything else will be different in just a matter of weeks.

First up, Sonoratown is going to add beer. There will be craft stuff as well as Tecate, the most popular beer in Mexico’s Sonora state, to go along with their recently-installed evening hours. The menu may eventually grow beyond tacos, chivichangas, and dinnertime burritos as well, but that’s a ways off. Mostly the expansion will free up dining space and help to streamline the bustling kitchen by spreading out the crowds. They’re not installing an extra kitchen hood or expanding the grill, but the added back of house footprint should also speed up things like tortilla production as well.

Courtesy Sonoratown

As for timing, Feltham tells Eater that the space is nearly complete, and could be operational before the end of the year. That’s great news for anyone seeking a taco or three after all the gluttonous Thanksgiving eating, or just before the big Christmas break.

Sonoratown. 208 E. 8th St., Los Angeles, CA.

• 24 Essential Cheap Eats in Los Angeles, 2018 Edition [ELA]