#HackTheMenu - Rubio's Coastal Grill General Information

The history of Rubio's Coastal Grill is a fairly recent tale. That is because Rubio's underwent a brand image change in 2014 where they changed their name from Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill to "Coastal Grill". This decision came as an effort to distinguish Rubio's from other fast-casual Mexican restaurants such as Qdoba and Chipotle.

The real history of Rubio's started in the 1970s when college student, Ralph Rubio, had a fish taco at a seaside taqueria in Mexico. Several years later, in 1983, Ralph Rubio and family opened up the very first Rubio's in Mission Bay, San Diego. The fish taco craze has spread through California as well as a few other states and the company has grown from its humble beginnings as a walk-up stand.

Rubio's Coastal Grill is still based out of San Diego, California, with its actual headquarters in Carlsbad, CA. Rubio's currently has over 200 fast-casual restaurants in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah and Florida. It doesn't matter how far from the coast you are, if you are craving a fish taco and there's a Rubio's nearby, you can grab one!

The first Rubio's restaurant had a very minimal menu compared to today's menu. The walk-up stand in Mission Beach served up fish tacos, calamari, french fries and a few other items.

Nowadays they offer a hearty menu that consists of many Mexican inspired dishes such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, salads, bowls, churros and desserts. For their main dishes, you can order many different proteins, such as pan-seared shrimp, tilapia, mahi mahi, salmon, beer-battered Alaska pollock, chicken, steak or veggies.