Javier Ruiz arrives in the United States with a dream.
Our family story
Born in California.
Built by family.
The Salty Burrito may be new to Nashville, but our story started long before we opened our doors on Belcourt Avenue.
Follow the story
One dream / generations of flavor
A family tradition that traveled more than two thousand miles—and never lost its Southern California soul.
The Ruiz family brings its California tradition to Tennessee.
A new generation writes its own Nashville chapter.
The beginning
A dream takes root.
It began in 1967, when Javier Ruiz came to the United States with a dream of one day owning his own taco shop. Sixteen years later, with his brother David by his side, that dream became a reality with the opening of Cotijas Taco Shop in El Cajon, California.
What started as one family taco shop grew into something much bigger.
From California to Tennessee
The recipes travel east.
The Ruiz family spent decades doing what they knew best—serving fresh, Southern California-style Mexican food and building restaurants around the recipes and flavors they grew up with.
In 2003, the family brought that tradition from California to Tennessee with Oscar's Taco Shop. Over the years, the family business continued to grow, and eventually Javier handed the keys to the next generation. Among them was his son, Enrique Ruiz.
But for Enrique and his family, carrying the tradition forward did not mean simply repeating what had already been done. It meant creating the next chapter.
A new generation. A new name.
Something new, built together.
After more than three decades in the restaurant business, more members of the Ruiz family were ready to become part of it. So instead of opening another location under an existing name, the family decided to build something new together.
The Salty Burrito was born.
The name is a little nod to the family's California roots, while the restaurant itself takes everything they have learned over generations and gives it a new home in Nashville.
The idea was simple: keep the fresh, made-to-order Southern California flavors the family has always loved, but create a place where people can slow down, grab a table, explore the salsa bar, and stay awhile.
Same roots. Our own story.
The tradition continues.
You will still find the flavors that shaped our family—burritos packed with carne asada, California-style favorites, tacos, fresh salsas and food made to order.
But The Salty Burrito is not meant to be another version of what came before it. It is our family's next chapter.
A little California history, a lot of family tradition, and something new we are proud to call Nashville.
Whether you are stopping in for your first California Burrito or you have been eating Ruiz family recipes for years—