Ralph Rubio is not a household name like other restaurant founders Dave Thomas and Colonel Sanders. But the San Diego success story behind Rubio’s famous fish tacos is interesting indeed.
While attending San Diego State University in the 1970s, Rubio was an indecisive college student debating what to do with his life.
One thing, though, was clear.
“”I always knew I wanted to own my own business,”” Rubio said.
He knew that most new businesses fail, so Rubio needed something to fall back on.
“”I thought I would really enjoy teaching,”” Rubio said. He majored in liberal studies, and enjoyed psychology and Spanish classes.
Rubio never had to fall back on that teaching career — although his minor in Spanish has probably come in handy.
The idea for Rubio’s Baja Grill came from weekend road trips and spring breaks spent in the Mexican fishing village of San Felipe. It was on the beaches of San Felipe that Rubio saw “”tons of fish taco stands.”” Over the course of his trips, Rubio said that “”all these gringos like myself”” were chowing down on the Baja specialty.
In 1983, with his father’s help, Rubio took over an old Orange Julius stand in Pacific Beach and started serving everything from french fries to calamari and, of course, fish tacos.
“”We were winging it,”” Rubio said. “”Sales were very low. It took about two years to build the business through word of mouth.””
However, Rubio was able to open his second location on College Avenue soon after.
Rubio’s has grown significantly since it opened in PB. There are now 136 Rubio’s restaurants in five states.
His most successful San Diego restaurant is the one on La Jolla Village Drive. It is this success and the success of Rubio’s branches at UCLA and SDSU that prompted Rubio’s to open a branch in the Price Center.
Among the 136 stores, one Rubio’s storefront stands out: The Cabo Cafe. It is a unique incarnation of Rubio’s Baja Grill, located on the campus of Monarch High School at 808 W. Cedar St. in downtown San Diego.
Monarch High School, which enrolls homeless and at-risk teens, was founded by San Diego teacher Sandra McBrayer in 1988. Serving between 60 and 75 homeless teen-agers at one time, Monarch High is a way out and a way up for many of the 1,500 kids who call San Diego’s streets home.
Rubio said the Cabo Cafe, which opened in October 2001, was “”an idea I carried around with me for the longest time.””
The Cabo Cafe is a fully functioning restaurant and all proceeds help fund Monarch High School’s programs. However, the cafe also provides job training and entrepreneurial skills to the five Monarch students who work there.
The students are selected by their teachers, but once they are hired, they are treated as regular employees.
“”I have to treat it like a normal job for them,”” said Cabo Cafe general manager Stacey Coughlin.
Coughlin also explained that working at the Cabo Cafe is meant to be a learning experience where creativity and imagination are used more often than in a typical Rubio’s branch.
As a former San Diego surfer who once only dreamed about owning his own restaurant, Rubio’s business know-how has been homegrown.
Rubio said there are six things that are crucial to starting a successful business: “”You have to have a great idea, you have to have passion and commitment, you have to have capital. Have some experience, surround yourself with smart people,”” and most importantly, “”build your business with integrity.””
It is advice he offers to his employees at Monarch High and to anyone looking to start a successful business.
While Rubio has recently spoken in radio advertisements for Rubio’s, he shies away from becoming larger-than-life.
“”I always swore I would never be in the advertising,”” Rubio said.
At the urging of his advertising team, he eventually caved — a little. While you may hear Rubio’s voice on your radio sometime soon, he’s still a long way from giving Colonel Sanders a run for his money.
