Miguel's Restaurants
Family-owned Southern California Mexican restaurant chain founded in 1973, operating 24 locations across the Inland Empire and Orange County under Miguel's Jr. quick-service and Miguel's California Mexican Cocina full-service formats.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1973
- HeadquartersCorona, United States
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Miguel's Restaurants does
Miguel's Restaurants is a privately held, 100% family-owned Mexican restaurant chain founded in 1973 in Corona, California by Mike and Mary Vasquez, now led in its second generation by CEO and President Javier Vasquez. The company operates 24 units in Southern California across two formats: 23 Miguel's Jr. quick-service locations and one Miguel's California Mexican Cocina full-service restaurant, concentrated in Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties. The menu centers on traditional Mexican items, with signature offerings including horchata and carnitas, refreshed through recent launches such as Coconut Horchata, Strawberry Lemonade, the Double Dipper Box, and the return of Carnitas.
The business generates revenue through dine-in and drive-thru restaurant sales, catering, branded merchandise, gift cards processed via the StoreCard platform, and third-party delivery through the Foodja partnership. There is no proprietary mobile application, no outside equity capital, and the company employs between 501 and 1,000 people. Community engagement is anchored by the Miguel's Gives Back in-store fundraising program, while brand reach is sustained through an active presence on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Threads. Co-founder Mary Vasquez remains active in the business at age 82, and Javier Vasquez's January 2026 appointment to the Loma Linda University Health board extends the family's external institutional footprint.
Miguel's Restaurants firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Miguel's Restaurants
- Legal name
- Miguel's Jr.
- Website
- https://miguelsjr.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1973
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Family-owned Southern California Mexican restaurant chain founded in 1973, operating 24 locations across the Inland Empire and Orange County under Miguel's Jr. quick-service and Miguel's California Mexican Cocina full-service formats.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Miguel's Restaurants industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Quick-Service Mexican Restaurants
- NAICS
- Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mexican/Latin QSR (Tacos, Burritos, Bowls) (THAFAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)
Keywords
Where Miguel's Restaurants is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Corona
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Miguel's Restaurants business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Restaurant Food and Beverage Sales: Core revenue from 23 Miguel's Jr. quick-service restaurant locations and 1 full-service Miguel's California Mexican Cocina location, selling made-to-order Mexican food including burritos, tacos, bowls, combination plates, and beverages. Menu items include breakfast offerings, kids' meals, and seasonal specials like tamales and carnitas.
- Catering Services: Catering packs designed for groups of 5-6 or 10-12 guests, plus burrito boxes for flexible event sizing. Orders placed through online ordering portal or via catering specialist contact. Delivery available through Foodja partnership.
- Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards sold through the company's own gift card portal (miguelsjr.digitalgiftcardmanager.com), generating upfront cash receipts that are redeemed when customers make purchases.
- Merchandise Sales: Brand merchandise including apparel sold through shop.miguelsjr.com, capitalizing on the 50-year brand heritage and community loyalty.
- Delivery Services: Food delivery through third-party partnership with Foodja, generating revenue from delivery orders with potential commission or per-order fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | National Burrito Day promotional offer: 2 burritos for $5 |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels12 records
Miguel's Restaurants product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Miguel's Restaurants operates a quick-service Mexican restaurant chain (Miguel's Jr.) with 23 locations across Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties in Southern California, plus a full-service concept (Miguel's California Mexican Cocina). The company sells hand-crafted burritos, tacos, nachos, combination plates, bowls, breakfast items, kids meals, and beverages made fresh daily from family recipes, and supplements dining with catering packs, online ordering, gift cards, and branded merchandise.
Product overview
Miguel's Restaurants operates two distinct restaurant brands: Miguel's Jr., a quick-service Mexican food chain with 23 locations across the Inland Empire and Orange County, and Miguel's California Mexican Cocina, a full-service dining concept. The core product offering centers on hand-crafted Mexican food including burritos, tacos, nachos, combination plates, bowls, and specialty beverages. The company supplements its restaurant operations with digital services including online ordering, gift cards, catering packs, and branded merchandise. Miguel's Jr. positions itself as an affordable family option with a kids' menu and combo meals, while the full-service Miguel's California Mexican Cocina concept offers a more upscale experience.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Miguel's Jr. Quick-Service Restaurants A quick-service Mexican food chain offering fast, casual Mexican food with 23 locations across the Inland Empire and Orange County in California, serving walk-in customers directly through dine-in, takeout, and drive-thru.
- Miguel's California Mexican Cocina A full-service Mexican restaurant brand operated by the same family, offering a more upscale dining experience compared to the quick-service Miguel's Jr. concept, located at Shops at Dos Lagos in Corona, CA.
- Menu - Burritos Signature hand-crafted burritos including Garbage Burrito, Wet Burrito, Bean and Cheese Burrito, Relleno Burrito, Chile Relleno Burrito, Fajita Chicken Burrito, Carnitas Burrito, Carne Asada Burrito, and chorizo varieties, made with hand-sorted, slow-cooked pinto beans and all-natural flour tortillas grilled to order.
- Menu - Tacos Traditional Mexican tacos featuring various proteins including carnitas, carne asada, and chicken, served with fresh toppings and hand-shredded lettuce.
- Menu - Nachos Cheese nachos topped with beans, meat, sour cream, and guacamole, offering shareable Mexican snack options.
- Menu - Combination Plates Combo meals pairing Mexican entrees with rice and beans, including options like chile relleno, chicken burrito, and cheese quesadilla plates.
- Menu - Bowls Rice bowls topped with proteins and Mexican toppings, featuring options like Enchilada Bowl, Guacamole Bowl, and Protein Bowl.
- Menu - Breakfast Breakfast items including Machaca con Huevos burrito, Machaca Breakfast Plate, Chorizo con Huevos, and Machaca taco.
- Menu - Quesadillas Cheese quesadillas and other quesadilla varieties including those with meat fillings.
- Menu - Kids Meals Child-friendly options (Little Chips) including cheese quesadilla, bean and cheese burrito, and kids taco with a drink and cookie, designed for children aged 12 and under.
- Menu - Desserts Dessert items featuring Churros with caramel sauce, chocolate chunk cookies, and other sweet treats.
- Menu - Beverages Drink offerings including horchata (traditional, coconut, and strawberry seasonal flavors), lemonade, strawberry lemonade, Mexican Coca-Cola, Jarritos, and various fountain drinks.
- Catering Packs Catering service offering group food packages sized for 5-6 guests or 10-12 guests, plus burrito boxes for flexible event sizing, for office meetings, workplace lunches, corporate events, family celebrations, and team parties. Available for delivery through Foodja partner.
- Online Ordering Digital ordering system allowing customers to place orders online for pickup at Miguel's Jr. locations.
- Gift Cards Gift card program enabling customers to purchase and redeem digital and physical gift cards across Miguel's Jr. locations, with balance checking available through StoreCard.
- Merchandise Branded merchandise including apparel and accessories available through the company's online shop, capitalizing on the 50-year brand heritage and community loyalty.
Quantifiable outcome
- Miguel's Jr. celebrated 50th anniversary on July 18, 2025, with celebrations at all 23 locations demonstrating sustained customer loyalty over five decades
Companies that use Miguel's Restaurants
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Miguel's Restaurants technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Miguel's Restaurants partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- FoodjacoreFoodja serves as Miguel's Jr.'s delivery partner for both regular food orders and catering deliveries. The partnership enables customers to order delivery through Foodja's platform while Miguel's Jr. gains access to delivery infrastructure and customer reach beyond its own online ordering capabilities.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Miguel's Restaurants competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Chronic Tacos: Southern California-based Mexican QSR chain with comparable menu (burritos, tacos), franchise model, and regional SoCal footprint competing directly with Miguel's in the same trade areas.
- Rubio's Coastal Grill: Founded in San Diego, Rubio's is a direct regional competitor operating a Mexican-focused quick-service concept in Southern California with a similar burrito-and-taco menu and coastal SoCal heritage analogous to Miguel's.
- Alberto's Mexican Food: Family-owned SoCal Mexican QSR chain with a similar authentic-recipe positioning and Inland Empire presence, directly competing on price, menu, and community brand affinity.
- Baja Fresh: Mexican fast-casual chain founded in Southern California emphasizing fresh-prep burritos, tacos, and bowls — directly comparable menu architecture and SoCal heritage to Miguel's.
- Del Taco: Mexican-American QSR chain headquartered in Southern California (Lake Forest) with comparable menu (burritos, tacos, value combos) and significant overlap in the same Inland Empire and Orange County trade areas.
Regional players
- King Taco: Family-owned Mexican QSR primarily serving the greater Los Angeles area with an authentic menu — comparable to Miguel's in heritage and family-recipe positioning but operating in a different SoCal geography.
Broad incumbents
- Chipotle Mexican Grill: National fast-casual leader serving Mexican-inspired bowls, burritos, and tacos with broad scale advantages in technology, marketing, and supply chain — competes for the same customer occasions.
- Qdoba Mexican Eats: National fast-casual Mexican chain with bowls, burritos, and tacos competing for similar customer occasions across broader geographies, offering scale and digital ordering advantages Miguel's lacks.
- Moe's Southwest Grill: National fast-casual chain serving burritos, tacos, and bowls with comparable menu structure but operating at substantially greater scale with a franchise-driven growth model.
- Taco Bell: Mass-market Mexican QSR incumbent owned by Yum! Brands; competes for the same quick-service Mexican occasions but at a different value tier and with vastly greater scale and marketing reach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Miguel's Restaurants social profiles
Digital presenceMiguel's Restaurants financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Miguel's Restaurants leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Miguel's Restaurants subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Miguel's Restaurants funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Miguel's Restaurants M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Miguel's Restaurants
What does Miguel's Restaurants do?
Miguel's Restaurants operates a quick-service Mexican restaurant chain (Miguel's Jr.) with 23 locations across Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties in Southern California, plus a full-service concept (Miguel's California Mexican Cocina). The company sells hand-crafted burritos, tacos, nachos, combination plates, bowls, breakfast items, kids meals, and beverages made fresh daily from family recipes, and supplements dining with catering packs, online ordering, gift cards, and branded merchandise.
Is Miguel's Restaurants a public or private company?
Miguel's Restaurants is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Miguel's Restaurants founded?
Miguel's Restaurants was founded in 1973. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Miguel's Restaurants based?
Miguel's Restaurants is headquartered in Corona, United States, in the North America region.
How does Miguel's Restaurants make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Food and Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are catering Services, gift Cards, merchandise Sales and delivery Services.
Who are Miguel's Restaurants's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Chronic Tacos, Rubio's Coastal Grill, Alberto's Mexican Food, Baja Fresh and Del Taco. King Taco is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Chipotle Mexican Grill, Qdoba Mexican Eats, Moe's Southwest Grill and Taco Bell.
Does Miguel's Restaurants have an API?
No public API is recorded for Miguel's Restaurants.
What industry is Miguel's Restaurants in?
Miguel's Restaurants's product category is Quick-Service Mexican Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFAAAE, Mexican/Latin QSR (Tacos, Burritos, Bowls), with a secondary code of THAFACAD, Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722513 and its SIC code is 5812.