Mike's Red Tacos Opens First Pasadena Location

The fourth restaurant for the brand, located at 899 E. Del Mar Blvd., is designed as a prototype for its national development pipeline.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Dining Out

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a red plate with a folded taco on a wooden café table beside an empty metal chair, in warm ochre and dusty rose tones. — Mike's Red Tacos opened its fourth restaurant, a corporate-run location at 899 E. Del Mar Blvd. in Pasadena, as a prototype for its national franchise pipeline. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Mike's Red Tacos has opened a corporate-run restaurant in Pasadena, California, its fourth location. The 3,400-square-foot restaurant seats 62 and includes an outdoor patio for group and family dining.

Why it matters

The Pasadena location serves as a prototype for the brand's expansion, which includes more than 300 franchise locations in development. LeBron James has joined the brand as an investor.

The restaurant spans 3,400 square feet and seats 62 guests, including an outdoor patio designed for group and family dining. Mike's Red Tacos has more than 300 franchise locations in development, and the Pasadena restaurant is its fourth overall.

The players

Mike's Red Tacos

Mike's Red Tacos is a restaurant brand that launched as a food truck in San Diego before expanding into brick-and-mortar locations.

LeBron James

LeBron James is a professional basketball player who has joined Mike's Red Tacos as an investor.

The details

The restaurant at 899 E. Del Mar Blvd. features street-art-inspired murals by Los Angeles-based artists. The location will also serve as a brand training center for the Mike's Red Tacos system.

August 2022: Mike's Red Tacos opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant.
November 4, 2026: The Pasadena restaurant opening was reported.

Market Landscape

The Pasadena location extends the brand's path from a San Diego food truck to a chain with more than 300 franchise locations in development. Its expansion follows a model in which a corporate-run prototype is used to build the national franchise pipeline.

Pasadena diners now have a new option offering a seated restaurant with an outdoor patio for group and family meals. The restaurant's 62 seats make it a place for larger gatherings than a typical food truck visit.

The takeaway

The Pasadena opening shows how a food truck brand can build a corporate prototype before scaling through franchising. Readers planning a visit can expect a 62-seat dining room with an outdoor patio.