El Ranchito

*Margarita Avila is remembered for her strength, spirit and skill.

The Orange County restaurant world lost one of its pioneering finest this week with the death of Margarita Avila, matriarch of the Avila’s El Ranchito family-owned chain whose beloved Mexican food recipes helped make the restaurant group a regional success…

*Margarita Avila, the 93-year-old matriarch behind the empire

Margarita and Salvador Avila opened their first restaurant in Huntington Park in 1966. For more than 50 years, Margarita and Salvador Avila’s El Ranchito restaurants have been a go-to in Orange County for combo plates and margaritas. Regulars will definitely…

At 50, Avila’s El Ranchito is still all about family

When patrons of Avila’s El Ranchito sit down to eat, they’re handed a menu bearing a picture of Margarita “Mamá” Avila. The matriarch of the Mexican food restaurant group is standing by stacks of plates. Her face beams. The photograph suggests…

Avila’s Corona del Mar celebrates 50 years of El Ranchito

The Corona del Mar location of Avila’s El Ranchito celebrated the Mexican restaurant group’s 50th anniversary with a Summer Fiesta on July 21. The event featured drinks, mariachi music, souvenirs, raffles and, of course, food. The first Avila’s opened in 1966…

Avila’s San Clemente will cap the family’s 50th Anniversary

As a teenager in Huntington Park in 1966, Victor Avila would stop into his parents’ newly opened restaurant after school to help with whatever needed to be done. It was just Salvador and Margarita running it, but the entire family…

Avila’s Orange location hosted a 50th Anniversary Summer Fiesta

When Margarita and Salvador Avila look over their restaurant, Avila’s El Ranchito, they see 50 years of work that turned into three generations of family members now running 13 locations. “It’s fun to see it through their eyes,” Marcus Avila, owner…

Avila’s to take over Seal Beach diner later this summer

Avila’s El Ranchito operates a restaurant in nearly every major coastal town in Orange County. Its coastal expansion continues with the opening of its 12th restaurant in the downtown Seal Beach. Elyse Avila Smith, the 28-year-old granddaughter of the founders,…

Off the Menu: Newport Beach Dining Icons Celebrate Milestones

Longevity in the restaurant business is rare, but this week we profile two restaurants on the Newport Peninsula that are celebrating milestone anniversaries (and are on the same block): Avila’s El Ranchito and Newport Beach Brewing Co. El Ranchito “About…

OC Metro: Avila’s El Ranchito dishes out strong family traditions

The restaurant business runs in Maribel Avila’s blood. Her first unofficial job at her family’s restaurant, Avila’s El Ranchito, came at age 4, when she handed menus to customers. In high school, she became a hostess. Now the 27-year-old manages…

Author: El Ranchito