{"id":11339321,"date":"2026-01-06T09:31:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T17:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/?p=11339321&preview=true&preview_id=11339321"},"modified":"2026-01-06T11:07:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T19:07:00","slug":"tacos-los-cholos-opens-new-orange-county-location","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/01\/06\/tacos-los-cholos-opens-new-orange-county-location\/","title":{"rendered":"Tacos Los Cholos opens new Orange County location"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a distinct aroma that follows Tacos Los Cholos<\/a> whenever the growing restaurant chain plants roots, the scent of mesquite smoke and prime meats hitting the grill. Now, that savory perfume has found another new home along downtown Santa Ana\u2019s Fourth Street corridor.<\/p>\n

Marking its fifth location, the lauded taqueria officially opened its doors on Dec. 22, located on the ground floor of the eight-story Rafferty building, brining new energy to the thoroughfare that\u2019s currently undergoing a transformation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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For co-founder and co-chef Josue Maldonado, planting a flag in the Orange County city with the largest Latino population wasn\u2019t just about expansion, but also about preservation.<\/p>\n

The original Tacos Los Cholos opened in Anaheim in 2019<\/a>. Surviving the pandemic, the taqueria opened its second location in Fullerton. Maldonado and his business partner, co-founder and co-chef Michael Alvarado, followed with spots in Huntington Beach and Huntington Park in Los Angeles County. Now, the duo have opened their fifth location in Santa Ana.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew there was a lot of change going on, so we wanted to bring a little bit of Mexican culture to stay here,\u201d said Maldonado.<\/p>\n