Downtown Flour Tortilla Mega-Hit Sonoratown Expands to Mid-City Soon

Heads up, Westsiders (or Westside adjacent, at least, depending on one’s personal definition): Here comes Sonoratown. The massively popular, Netflix-famous flour tortilla makers have become one of the city’s biggest success stories in recent years, and now they’re heading west, with plans to open sometime this fall.

The new Sonoratown is set to take shape at 5610 San Vicente Boulevard in the broad Mid-City area, just south of the Miracle Mile and not far from the Beverly Hills and Culver City borders. The strip mall at Hauser used to be home to a small-ish corner Subway location, but soon enough it will house chivis, chorizo, and “the perfume of grilled beef and freshly warmed flour tortillas,” per a 2019 LA Times review from the original Fashion District location in Downtown LA.

Owners Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez, Jr. and Jennifer Feltham confirmed the news to Eater last night, saying that the shop will keep much of the same look and feel as the first. That means limited (or none, at least for now given the ongoing pandemic) room for on-site seating, and lots of to-go tacos and burritos, with daytime through dinner hours. There’s still a robust build-out to be done, but given how quickly Feltham and Diaz-Rodriguez flipped (and then expanded) the first location, there’s hope that the restaurant could open within six months.

That’s good news for Westsiders — or anyone willing to make the drive — but great news for the Sonoratown team, which has struggled at times to keep up with demand for their food, especially after debuting on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles show. Howlin’ Ray’s-level lines formed in the days and weeks since and even now with takeout only Feltham and Diaz-Rodridguez and their crew have been impressively busy. The new shop should relieve some of that pressure, while also building a new fanbase in the area.

Meanwhile the Mid-City dining renaissance continues. Over on La Brea the recently-opened historic Firestone building has been hopping thanks to All Season Brewing and Chicas Tacos, while just down Hauser the new Bootleg Pizza is quickly becoming its own staple alongside longtime names like Sky’s Tacos and My Two Cents.

• After More Than 25 Years in Mid-City, Sky’s Still Cooks LA’s Most Unique Tacos [ELA]