One Of San Diego's Oldest Mexican Restaurants Has Closed | La Piñata Shutters In Old Town

November 26, 2018

A destination for Mexican food in San Diego for 90 years, La Piñata Restaurant & Bar has shuttered in Old Town, although many believe that the closure could be temporary.

Originally the family home of the Machado-Peters family, Florence Peters began selling food from her kitchen via a take-out window in 1928 before converted the residence into a sit-down restaurant called Ramona’s Spanish Kitchen. Florence’s sister Vivian Peters and husband Cecil Joseph Flanagan assumed the restaurant business and employed an entirely Mexican staff. Ramona’s Spanish Kitchen was taken over and renamed La Piñata in 1969 and now counts itself as the oldest restaurant in Old Town San Diego. Prior to closure, the restaurant was operated by Dean & Deborah Douglas, whose family took over in 2001.

Many have speculated that La Pinata's sudden closure is only temporary so that the building can be renovated. The restaurant shuttered around November 6 and the only announcement was a Facebook post that said "Closed". The closure coincides with the grounding of the old CalTrans building across the street, which is being torn down to be turned into a park, so maybe there will be a revival. We reached out to ownership but did not receive a response by the time of publishing.

La Piñata Restaurant & Bar sits at 2836 Juan Street in San Diego's Old Town.