The Mitla Cafe: Serving the San Bernardino Community for Generations
The restaurants storied tacos dorados have drawn city leaders, movie stars, and everyday people to the cafe for 86 years.
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Rebecca Ortenberg
The Mitla Cafe on Mount Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino, California, has served tacos dorados since it opened in 1937. In the last 10 years, one customer has earned a lot of attention: Glenn Bell, founder of Taco Bell, who got the idea for the fast-food chain’s hard-shelled taco from the Mitla’s first owner, Lucia Rodriguez.
More than tacos
But the Mitla is not just the place where Taco Bell’s tacos originated—it has also nourished the region’s thriving Mexican American community, becoming a place where locals and anti-discrimination activists gathered alongside travelers heading to Los Angeles via Route 66.
It’s this history that is being honored by National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Backing Historic Small Restaurants program (BHSR)—presented with American Express—which provided the Mitla with $40,000 to help them improve their business.
The founding family
According to historian Mark Ocegueda, Lucia and her husband, Vincente Montaño, immigrated to San Bernardino and settled on the city’s West Side in 1928, a time when Mexican immigrants were plagued by forced deportations.
Yet the community in San Bernardino still flourished, building a prosperous business district along Mount Vernon Avenue despite the neglect and hostility of white officials.
Tap to explore
Vicente passed away not long after Lucia opened the Mitla. In order to ensure the cafe succeeded, Lucia threw herself into her work with single-minded vigor, sometimes working for 24 hours straight and sleeping in the back of the restaurant.
Her second husband, Salvador Rodriguez, made sure the whole region knew that his wife’s cafe was the best place to go for tacos and more. “He had the wherewithal to start bringing in local groups and politicians,” Michael Montaño (who co-owns the cafe with his cousin Steve Oquendo) explained. “He became the voice [of the restaurant], while Lucia was the backbone.”
Last stop before your destination
By 1940, the Mitla was the go-to restaurant for locals and motorists passing through the city. Route 66 went right past the cafe.
“This was the last stop before someone turned right and headed west towards Santa Monica,” Montaño said. “Imagine, you’ve just come from Barstow, you've been driving through the desert for hours. And now you finally see this glimpse of civilization.”
A center for activism
The Mitla also served as the home base for the city’s Mexican activist community. Rodriguez was a member of the Cámara de Comercio, or the Mexican Chamber of Commerce, a group of merchants with businesses along Mount Vernon Avenue who met regularly at the cafe.
They played a significant role in bolstering the community. The Cámara de Comercio also took on government officials to combat discrimination.
Mitla Cafe Dining Room (2024-09-24) by RightCowLeftCoast via Wikimedia (Public Domain)National Trust for Historic Preservation
Still standing
In the second half of the 20th century, a lot changed for Mount Vernon Avenue. In 1959, U.S. 395 was completed, diverting motorists away from the Mexican side of the city and towards the predominantly white side. Nevertheless, the Mitla continues to serve the community.
After Lucia died in 1981, her daughter Vera took over, and then the restaurant passed to Frank and Irene Montano, Michael Montaño' s parents. Montaño remembered the Mitla as a place of comfort and safety.
“It was my family’s kitchen. On the way to school, I’d go to the kitchen and grab some fresh tortillas or a burrito, whatever I wanted for breakfast—the same thing you would do if you went into your own kitchen.” - Michael Montaño
When considering the Mitla’s legacy, Montaño thinks about the women in his family—his mother, his aunts, and, of course, his grandmother Lucia. Even now, he remains inspired by the effort they put into both their restaurants and their children through good times and bad.
The legacy also lives in the restaurant itself, which Montaño is committed to maintaining as a sustainable family restaurant with deep roots in its community. “It’s tough to run a small family restaurant. But [Steve and I] like to say that we’re stewards of this place. We want to put things in place to make it a little easier if, at some point, we step away and decide that maybe someone else in the family will be the next stewards.”
Learn more about the National Trust for Historic Preservation's campaign to preserve Route 66, sign our petition to advocate for the Mother Road, and then share your Route 66 story with us.
Explore other stories on the Mother Road
Along Route 66, the Hi-Way Cafe Sign Shines Again
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Adapted by Tim O'Donnell from The Mitla Cafe: Serving the San Bernardino Community for Generations by Rebecca Orternberg.
Rebecca Ortenberg is a public historian, digital storyteller, and wrangler of people and ideas.
Tim O'Donnell is a former editor at Preservation magazine and freelance journalist who covers architecture and urban design.
This story is made possible by the generosity of David and Julia Uihlein.
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