The Little Chihuahua

What The Little Chihuahua does

The Little Chihuahua is a privately-held, founder-owned Mexican restaurant group operating three dine-in, take-out, and delivery locations in San Francisco (Lower Haight at 292 Divisidero St., Noe Valley at 4123 24th St., and Polk Street at 1431 Polk St.). Founded in 2007 by Andrew Johnstone and Camila Fernandez in the Lower Haight neighborhood, the company serves wholesome Mexican food made from scratch daily, emphasizing organic beans, tortillas, and chips, sustainably and responsibly sourced proteins, and a wide range of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. The menu spans tacos, burritos, bowls, enchiladas, soups, salads, appetizers, desserts, and house-made beverages, with a dedicated weekend brunch menu and a separate catering service for events and corporate customers.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer model. Revenue is generated through dine-in and take-out checks (all of which include a 6% service fee dedicated to employee healthcare), online ordering through the Toast platform for pickup and delivery, gift cards sold via Toast, a catering service run through SpoonFed with 24-hour advance ordering, and branded merchandise sold through a dedicated e-commerce site. Customer segments are local San Francisco residents in the three neighborhood catchments, corporate and event catering buyers, and weekend brunch diners. The technology footprint is intentionally minimal: third-party commerce and catering platforms (Toast, SpoonFed), a content website, and organic social media; no proprietary technology, app, or AI capabilities are described. The company has no external funding, no parent entity, and the founders remain the operating principals.

Name

The Little Chihuahua

Legal name

The Little Chihuahua

Website

https://thelittlechihuahua.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Little Chihuahua is a founder-owned Mexican restaurant group operating three scratch-made dine-in, take-out, and delivery locations across San Francisco neighborhoods, with online ordering, catering, brunch, and branded merchandise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (7225), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Mexican & Tex-Mex Fast Casual (THAFABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mexican/Latin QSR (Tacos, Burritos, Bowls) (THAFAAAE), Specialty & Dietary Catering (Halal, Kosher, Vegan, Allergen-Free, Medical) (THAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Mexican restaurant
• Fast casual dining
• Catering services
• Tacos and burritos
• Brunch dining

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Dine-in and Take-out Sales: Revenue from customers dining in or taking out food at restaurant locations. All checks include a 6% service fee to support employee healthcare.
2. Online Ordering: Direct online ordering through Toast platform for pickup and delivery orders.
3. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering with bulk orders including appetizer trays, burrito boxes, taco bars, and salads. Orders placed online at least 24 hours in advance or via phone for last-minute requests.
4. Gift Cards: Gift cards sold through Toast, valid at any San Francisco location.
5. Merchandise: Branded merchandise sold through dedicated merch website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Little Chihuahua operates three San Francisco dine-in/take-out/delivery restaurants serving made-from-scratch Mexican cuisine including tacos, burritos, bowls, enchiladas, soups, salads, appetizers, desserts, and house-made beverages. The restaurants emphasize organic beans, tortillas, and chips with responsibly-sourced proteins (grass-fed carne asada, sustainable salmon, responsibly-raised pork and chicken), and offer vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. Revenue is complemented by a weekend brunch menu, catering for events and corporate clients, gift cards, and branded merchandise.

Product overview

The Little Chihuahua is a single-location-focused Mexican restaurant chain operating three dine-in/take-out/delivery locations in San Francisco. The core product is a scratch-made Mexican food menu featuring tacos (served individually or as plates), burritos, and bowls with various proteins and toppings. Supporting offerings include a weekend brunch menu, catering services for events, gift cards, and branded merchandise. All sauces are vegan and ingredients include organic beans, tortillas, and chips with responsibly-raised proteins.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mexican Restaurant Main Menu

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• El Farolito: Multi-location San Francisco Mexican burrito/taco chain with deep local brand recognition. Direct competitor in the SF fast-casual Mexican segment with overlapping customer demographics.
• Taqueria Cancún: Long-established SF Mexican taqueria chain. Comparable independent multi-unit SF operator competing for similar neighborhood and late-night customer segments.
• Nopalito: San Francisco-based upscale Mexican restaurant group with multiple locations emphasizing traditional, from-scratch cooking. Comparable multi-unit SF Mexican operator targeting similar quality-conscious customer base.
• La Taqueria: Iconic San Francisco Mission-style taqueria operating a single flagship location with hand-prepared tortillas. Highly comparable as a small, independent, quality-obsessed Mexican operator in the SF market.
• Gracias Madre: Bay Area plant-based Mexican restaurant with multiple SF locations. Direct peer on the vegan/plant-based Mexican positioning TLC emphasizes across its menu.

Broad incumbents

• CAVA: National fast-casual chain with Mexican-adjacent build-your-own bowl positioning and Bay Area footprint. Represents the broader fast-casual competitive context shaping SF customer expectations.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill: National fast-casual Mexican chain with extensive SF Bay Area presence. Sets the standard price/throughput benchmark against which TLC's premium positioning must justify its price premium.

Emerging players

• Tocaya Organica: Modern organic Mexican fast-casual concept with California locations. Comparable on the organic/responsibly-sourced ingredient positioning TLC uses as differentiation.
• Todo Bien: Smaller independent Mexican operator in the Bay Area competing for similar quality-and-convenience-oriented dine-in and catering customers.

Others

• SpoonFed (catering platform peer): Catering marketplace platform TLC uses for online catering orders. Ecosystem participant enabling TLC's catering channel and therefore material to its commercial model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-little-chihuahua

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 The Little Chihuahua