Sky's Gourmet Tacos is closing after 34 years on Pico Boulevard

Sky's Gourmet Tacos, the popular downtown taco shop that opened in 1992 with a soul food-infused take on Mexican cuisine, will close permanently on August 15. Owner Barbara Burrell says she is in the process of securing a new space that will allow her to transition the business to a catering model.

“Economically, it just doesn't make sense anymore,” said Burrell, who kept her restaurant afloat through the 1992 riots, the Northridge earthquake, the deaths of her youngest son and her fiancé and her battle with cancer. She cited a changing restaurant industry, reduced foot traffic and growing competition from ghost kitchens as well as rent and utility increases as reasons for the closure.

The full menu, including all-day breakfast, burritos, nachos, bowls and generous tacos with fillings inspired by soul food traditions, is available to order through August 15. As she prepares to say goodbye to the sprawling patio with attached parking, Burrell plans to be at the restaurant as often as possible and will even return to the kitchen to prepare signature dishes, including her famous shrimp tacos, which, along with tortillas, are bathed in a tangy-spicy red sauce, then drizzled with cheese and slaw.

Margaret Johnson, a longtime customer at Sky's who grew up in the surrounding Mid-City neighborhood, says the restaurant represents an opportunity for Black people to become owners. “It’s just sad not just to see it [are] Small businesses are closing, but Black-owned ones are closing.”

But Johnson wants to remain a loyal Sky customer, regardless of how the company develops in the future. ““I’ll be back several times before they close,” she says. “I have used their catering services before and definitely plan to continue to support them in this way in the future.”

Once a hub for Black-owned restaurants, the stretch of Pico Boulevard that Sky's Gourmet Tacos occupies has changed dramatically in recent years. In January 2023, Roscoe's Chicken n' Waffles closed its Pico location after 32 years. Nearby, My 2 Cents, the California soul destination led by chef-owner Alisa Reynolds, closed last summer after 12 years in the neighborhood. Just a block from Sky's, the popular Stevie's Creole Café still offers po' boy sandwiches, gumbo and daily specials.

“This neighborhood has grown strong,” Burrell said. “When I first moved here, it's like everywhere else, and the neighborhood wasn't really as solid as it is now. But people came, it became a destination, Sky's did. People came from all over, which was just a wonderful thing. And what did I know? I'm on the grill right now. Let me just make some tacos, okay?”

Tacos have been a driving force in Burrell's life since he was a child. She ate her first taco at age 12 in Waukegan, Illinois, outside of Chicago—an altogether disappointing experience—but curiosity drove her to delve deeper into the staple Mexican dish.

She persuaded her mother to take her to a Latin American market where she bought tortillas, which she then sold in cans, and began experimenting with making them at home.

When she moved to San Diego in the early 1970s, Burrell was in National City every Saturday morning, looking at freshly hand-made tortillas and learning about guacamole.

And in 1992, nine months after ending her decade-long career in wealth management while unemployed, tacos became the gateway to entrepreneurship.

“One morning I woke up and said, 'Tacos!' Burrell told the Times in an interview in 2024.

This year, she opened Sky's Gourmet Tacos on Pico Boulevard, making tacos on a 24-inch Wolf stove. She eventually moved to the restaurant's current location just down the street.

It turns out that Burrell's approach — coined as “Mexican with a dash of soul” — was already common in black households across Southern California. Sky's, along with places like Taco Pete, which opened in South LA in 1989, helped bring this soulful take on tacos mainstream, and it has since found favor in Black-owned restaurants across the region.

At its peak, Sky's Gourmet Tacos had an additional marketplace location with a deli and takeout in Marina Del Rey, as well as a Cloud Kitchen in downtown LA. It had a deal in place to open a sprawling location at Hollywood Park in Inglewood in late 2022, but those plans ultimately fell through.

“I take the bull by the horns and say: Let's focus. Let's go back to what we know,” says Burrell. “We don't know where we stand with walk-ins. But we know that our catering is solid.”

Burrell's son, Victor Burrell, remains president of the company, while her daughter-in-law, Marie Burrell, serves as director of food service. It will continue to sell its packaged “cheeky” sauce and seasoning mixes along with other Sky's products.

“It’s not because we failed,” Burrell said. “That's because businesses are evolving. We're continuing with our catering and other offerings and we're looking forward to it.”