San Diego’s most storied Mexican restaurant appears one step closer to reopening. Las Cuatro Milpas posted an update to Instagram today showing members of the Estudillo family smiling and holding a key while inside the former Liberty Call Distilling space at Mercado del Barrio in Barrio Logan, captioned simply: “One step closer as promised San Diego.” The image all but confirms that the nearly century-old institution will relaunch at 1985 National Avenue, Suite 1131, a 2,857-square-foot ground-floor space within the mixed-use development just blocks from its original Logan Avenue home.
The update follows weeks of speculation after the family publicly confirmed in January that the restaurant would reopen in a new location within Barrio Logan. At the time, lease paperwork had not yet been finalized. Today’s post places the reopening squarely inside the former Liberty Call Distilling tasting room, which permanently closed last July after more than a decade in business.
The space itself carries its own complicated recent history. Liberty Call expanded into Mercado del Barrio in 2020 with a full bar and restaurant concept built around its small-batch spirits. Despite early optimism, the distillery struggled in the post-pandemic hospitality environment, briefly opening a second restaurant in Coronado before shuttering it within months. By mid-2025, the Barrio Logan tasting room had quietly been listed for sale, and it ceased operations shortly thereafter.
Now, the same footprint that once housed bourbon barrels and craft cocktails appears poised to become the new home of handmade tortillas, chorizo con huevos, rice and beans, and rolled tacos, all staples that defined Las Cuatro Milpas for generations.
The relocation marks the latest chapter in a turbulent year for the Estudillo family. After 92 years at 1875 Logan Avenue, the original Las Cuatro Milpas property was sold in late 2025 for approximately $2.275 million to Iglesia del Dios Vivo Columna, Inc., affiliated with the controversial La Luz del Mundo church. The sale followed mounting financial pressures, documented tax liens, and a temporary health department closure in late 2024 stemming from pest-related violations. On December 24, 2025, the restaurant served its final customers at its historic address.
The nearly century-old building now sits vacant and tagged with graffiti, a stark contrast to the daily lines that once stretched down the block. For many in Barrio Logan, the restaurant’s closure symbolized not just the loss of a business, but the displacement of a cultural landmark founded in 1933 by Petra and Natividad Estudillo.
Reopening inside Mercado del Barrio represents both continuity and transformation. The development, anchored by residential units and ground-floor commercial tenants, offers modern infrastructure, built-in foot traffic, and compliance advantages that the aging Logan Avenue structure could no longer provide. At the same time, it lacks the intimate, timeworn character that defined the original dining room.
Critical details remain unknown. The family has not announced an official opening date, whether the new location will operate cash-only as before, or if service style and pricing will mirror the original format. It is also unclear how much renovation will be required to convert the former distillery into a high-volume taqueria capable of handling the crowds Las Cuatro Milpas historically drew. There is also the possibility that Las Cuatro Milpas could add a bar component.
Still, today’s post signals tangible progress rather than abstract promise. Balloons hang in the background of the image, and family members appear to be inside the largely empty shell of the former tasting room, suggesting buildout activity could come soon.
For a restaurant so deeply tied to place, the question now becomes whether Las Cuatro Milpas can transfer its gravity to a new address. Mercado del Barrio sits only a few blocks from the original site, but cultural landmarks are rarely defined by proximity alone. The reopening will test whether nearly a century of goodwill, recipes, and ritual can transcend the four walls that housed them for generations.
If successful, the move would mark one of the more significant restaurant resurrections in recent San Diego history, a legacy business navigating financial strain, property loss, public controversy, and neighborhood change, yet still determined to return.
Las Cuatro Milpas’ anticipated new home is located at 1985 National Avenue, Suite 1131, within Mercado del Barrio in San Diego’s Barrio Logan community. An opening timeline has not yet been announced. For more information, follow @lascuatromilpas.sd on Instagram.
Originally published on February 14, 2026.