What Nopalitos Restaurant Inc does

Nopalitos Restaurant Inc, doing business as Nopalito, is a privately held independent Mexican restaurant company founded on February 8, 2009 by chef/owner Gonzalo Guzman with partners Allyson Jossel and Jeff Hanak. The company operates a single full-service restaurant at 306 Broderick St in San Francisco, serving traditional from-scratch Mexican cuisine rooted in Veracruz-region techniques that Guzman learned from his mother in El Aguila, Catemaco. Menu prices range from $6.50 (sides) to $32.50 (premium proteins such as carne asada and trucha a la plancha), with a 5% surcharge applied to all checks for San Francisco employer mandates. The dine-in experience operates on a no-reservation, first-come-first-served basis with indoor and outdoor seating.

Beyond dine-in, the company generates revenue from four streams: (i) takeout and delivery orders via the order.online platform and DoorDash, operating 11:30 AM to 9:00 PM daily (Wednesdays 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM); (ii) serviced taco-bar catering for events of 25-300+ guests across the Bay Area, including setup, equipment, serviceware, and four hours of labor, with out-of-San Francisco time billed at $200/hour; (iii) a retail line launched in 2011 of house-made salsas, chips, and spicy garbanzo beans; and (iv) branded merchandise and gift cards via MerchLocal and GiftRockers. The company also published the James Beard Award-winning cookbook 'Nopalito: A Mexican Kitchen' in 2018.

The business has contracted from a peak of two locations (the 9th Avenue Inner Sunset site operated 2012-2020 and an 18th Street taco window opened in 2020 and closed in March 2024) back to the original Broderick St restaurant, which celebrated its 15-year anniversary in 2024. The company is founder-led, has nine employees, has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no app, no API, and no AI or technology differentiation beyond standard third-party ordering and delivery integrations.

Name

Nopalitos Restaurant Inc

Legal name

Nopalito Restaurant Inc

Website

https://nopalitosf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nopalitos Restaurant Inc (DBA Nopalito) is an independent, single-location traditional Mexican restaurant in San Francisco, serving walk-in diners, catering events of 25-300+ guests across the Bay Area, and selling retail salsas, chips, and merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mexican Casual Dining Restaurant

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Mexican & Tex-Mex Fast Casual (THAFABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Mexican restaurant dining
• Taco bar catering
• Specialty food retail
• Private party hosting
• Casual dining services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Sales: Traditional restaurant dining at the Broderick St location with indoor and outdoor seating. No reservations accepted; first-come-first-served basis.
2. Online Ordering/Takeout: Takeout and delivery orders through order.online platform. Operating hours: 11:30 AM - 9:00 PM daily, except Wednesdays 4:30 PM - 9:00 PM.
3. Catering Services: Serviced taco bar catering for events 25-300+ throughout the Bay Area. Includes setup, equipment, serviceware, and 4 hours of labor. Additional time outside San Francisco billed at $200/hr.
4. Retail Products: Retail line launched in 2011 including salsas, chips, and spicy garbanzo beans sold direct to consumers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Nopalito is a traditional Mexican restaurant in San Francisco that prepares from-scratch regional Mexican cuisine rooted in Veracruz, Mexico, using local Bay Area ingredients. The company operates a single dine-in restaurant at 306 Broderick St, and sells related services and products including full-service taco bar catering for events of 25-300+ guests, retail salsas/chips/garbanzo beans, private dining, and a published James Beard Award-winning cookbook.

Product overview

Nopalito is a traditional Mexican restaurant concept offering a unified dining experience centered on authentic from-scratch Mexican cuisine. The core offerings include the dine-in restaurant at Broderick St serving traditional dishes (tacos, tamales, enchiladas, quesadillas), supplemented by catering services (Taco Bar Service for 25-300+ guests), retail products (salsas, chips, spicy garbanzo beans), a published cookbook, and private event hosting. The product portfolio is cohesive, centered on sharing Mexican culinary traditions through food service and retail channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nopalito Restaurant Dine-In Service Traditional from-scratch Mexican restaurant offering dine-in service with indoor and outdoor seating, a full menu of tacos, tamales, enchiladas, quesadillas, soups, large format sharing plates, tequila/mezcal beverages, and aguas frescas. Located at 306 Broderick St, San Francisco, on a first-come-first-served basis with no reservations.
• Taco Bar Catering Service Full-service taco bar catering for corporate events, weddings, and private gatherings of 25-300+ guests throughout the Bay Area. Includes setup, equipment, serviceware, chafing dishes, and 4 hours of labor, with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available. Additional time outside San Francisco billed at $200/hr.
• Nopalito Retail Food Products Retail line of house-made Mexican food products including salsas, chips, and spicy garbanzo beans sold directly to consumers. Launched in 2011 as an extension of the restaurant's from-scratch kitchen.
• Private Party Hosting Private event hosting at the Broderick St restaurant for parties of up to 30 guests. Small parties (up to 10) are accommodated in the main dining room, while larger parties up to 30 guests use the covered and heated parklet with reservations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Catering serves events from 25 to 300+ guests

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Puesto: Modern upscale Mexican concept with multiple California locations serving chef-driven tacos and shareable plates. Comparable price points and brand positioning targeting the same premium Mexican dining segment.
• Lolinda: San Francisco restaurant serving Latin American cuisine with a similar chef-driven approach, comparable price points, full beverage program (tequila/mezcal focus), and shared catering/private events business targeting Bay Area event hosts.
• Tacolicious: Chef-driven modern Mexican concept with multiple Bay Area locations, comparable menu positioning (tacos, shareable plates), similar price points ($15-$30), and overlapping catering/event business targeting similar clientele.
• Gracias Madre: Plant-based Mexican restaurant in San Francisco with a similarly chef-driven, from-scratch philosophy and comparable price points. Competes directly for the same authenticity- and ingredient-conscious Bay Area diners.
• El Farolito: Long-established San Francisco Mexican QSR specializing in Mission-style burritos and tacos. Direct competitor in the same Bay Area market, though positioned at a lower price point than Nopalito's chef-driven offering.
• La Taqueria: Iconic San Francisco Mexican institution known for Mission-style burritos and tacos. Direct competitor for authentic Mexican dining in the same Bay Area market with comparable walk-in counter-service model and price points.
• El Buen Comer: Mission-district Mexican restaurant focused on regional Mexican cuisine with strong catering business. Directly competes for the same authentic-Mexican-seeking Bay Area diners and corporate event clients.

Broad incumbents

• Chipotle Mexican Grill: Largest scaled Mexican fast-casual operator in the US. Not a direct competitor (mass-market vs. chef-driven) but represents the broader category benchmark for Mexican dining volume, pricing, and consumer expectations.
• Nopa: Established San Francisco chef-driven restaurant serving American/Mediterranean cuisine. Comparable high-end casual dining operator in the same neighborhood with similar from-scratch, locally-sourced positioning and walk-in/no-reservations model.

Regional players

• Mama's on Washington Square: Long-established San Francisco family-owned restaurant serving comfort food with a cult following and waitlist-driven demand. Comparable independent, family-owned SF operator with strong brand recognition built over decades.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nopalitos-restaurant-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nopalitos Restaurant Inc