Tijuana-born taco chain Taquería Tijuanazo is expanding its footprint in San Diego County with a new location at 2333 Highland Avenue in National City, bringing its signature carne asada, adobada, birria and other border-style specialties to a South Bay neighborhood already known for its competitive taco scene. The opening marks another step in the Esquivel family's Southern California expansion, following the closure of its original Hillcrest restaurant and the debut of a smaller sister concept in Little Italy earlier this year.
The National City restaurant occupies the former home of Birria Kings Street Tacos & Beer, a Mexican eatery previously known for its birria tacos, quesatacos, birria ramen and oversized birria pizzas. The address places Tijuanazo along Highland Avenue, one of National City's established commercial corridors, where traditional Mexican restaurants and taco shops compete for a customer base with deep familiarity with Tijuana-style cooking.
The move brings Tijuanazo geographically closer to the border city where the business began nearly two decades ago.
Founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife team Antonio and Claudia Esquivel in Playas de Tijuana, the original restaurant operated under the name TacoNazo before adopting the Tijuanazo identity following a naming dispute. What began as a family taquería eventually expanded across Tijuana and into Southern California, with the founders' daughters taking increasingly prominent roles in the American operation.
Karyme Esquivel has overseen the brand's San Diego expansion, while her sister Aria has been involved with its Los Angeles restaurants. Their efforts have brought a distinctly Tijuana-style approach to the American side of the border, emphasizing grilled meats, freshly prepared salsas, tortillas and the familiar combination of guacamole, onions and cilantro that defines many of the region's most popular tacos.
Tijuanazo's menu includes carne asada, adobada, beef birria and chorizo, along with quesadillas, mulitas, burritos, tortas, vampiros and quesatacos. Among its more recognizable specialty items are the taco azteca, which incorporates grilled cactus, and the fantasma, a crispy, cheese-forward preparation. The restaurant also offers roasted peppers, nopales and onions as accompaniments.
The company's approach to its salsas has become a defining feature. Rather than treating salsa as an interchangeable condiment, Tijuanazo pairs different meats with sauces designed to complement their flavors. Its birria, for example, has been described as accompanied by a smoky salsa incorporating roasted tomatoes, chile de árbol and caramelized onions, while its carne asada and chorizo receive a different blend featuring tomatoes, chiles and habanero.
The expansion follows a complicated first chapter in San Diego.
Tijuanazo entered the local market in late 2024 with a restaurant at 406 University Avenue in Hillcrest, joining a growing field of operators attempting to bring Tijuana's taco culture to neighborhoods north of the border. SanDiegoVille covered the opening and subsequently reported the restaurant's closure in December 2025, when the company announced that it would shift its attention to a new location in Little Italy.
That transition was part of a broader change in strategy. The family had already announced plans for a second San Diego location at 2102 India Street, inside a compact standalone building formerly occupied by Swagyu Butcher Shop. With Hillcrest closed, the Little Italy project became the company's principal San Diego presence.
The India Street restaurant eventually opened under the name Tijuanero by Tijuanazo, a smaller, streamlined interpretation of the original taquería. Situated near the intersection of India and West Hawthorn streets, the business features an outdoor grilling station and covered seating, allowing the family to serve its Tijuana-style tacos in one of San Diego's busiest dining and pedestrian districts.
Its opening also demonstrated that the family was willing to experiment with formats rather than simply reproduce the larger restaurants operating in Tijuana and Los Angeles.
Now, the National City expansion brings the business into a substantially different market.
Unlike Little Italy, where restaurants compete heavily for tourists, downtown workers and weekend visitors, National City's Highland Avenue corridor serves a South Bay population accustomed to an extensive selection of Mexican food. Nearby operators include Tacos El G, Taqueria Los Chuchys and other established businesses specializing in grilled meats, adobada and regional taco preparations.
That competition presents an opportunity as well as a challenge. Tijuanazo arrives with an established name in Tijuana and a menu familiar to diners who regularly cross the border, but its success in National City will depend on how consistently it delivers the food and value that originally built the family's following.
The opening also continues a larger trend in San Diego's restaurant industry, as Mexican food businesses founded south of the international border increasingly establish permanent locations in communities throughout the county. For customers, that means greater access to regional specialties without crossing into Mexico. For operators, it means adapting familiar recipes and service models to a different regulatory environment, labor market and commercial real estate landscape.
Tijuanazo's arrival at the former Birria Kings property is particularly fitting because the location already has a history of serving Mexican street-food specialties. The new operator brings a broader selection of grilled meats and traditional taco preparations to a storefront previously associated primarily with birria-focused dishes.
The National City restaurant joins the family's expanding Southern California presence and gives South Bay diners another option for the flavors that helped establish Tijuanazo in Playas de Tijuana.
Taquería Tijuanazo's new location is at 2333 Highland Avenue in National City. The company's Little Italy sister restaurant, Tijuanero by Tijuanazo, operates at 2102 India Street in downtown San Diego. For more information, visit taqueriatijuanazo.com.
Originally published on November 8, 2026.
