Chando’s Tacos returning to Sacramento after three-month hiatus — here’s when

Chando’s Tacos is returning after a brief shutdown through the end of summer and early fall.

Three of the famed Sacramento-based taco restaurant’s locations will be reopening in the coming weeks, starting Saturday, Nov. 1, according to owner Lisandro “Chando” Madrigal.

Madrigal announced his restaurant’s revival in a video posted on the business’ Instagram and Facebook pages Monday evening. The chain’s original 863 Arden Way restaurant in North Sacramento, as well as outposts at 5665 Power Inn Road and on the Sacramento State campus are slated to reopen, Madrigal said.

“We will continue to offer Sacramento the tacos that have brought us to where we are,” he said in the video. “We are ready to return.”

The announcement comes three months after all the region’s Chando’s Tacos locations abruptly shut down. In the months since, two of the former locations were turned over to Tequileros Taqueria: The Fair Oaks restaurant at 5323 Sunrise Blvd. and its Roseville location at 943 Pleasant Grove Blvd.

“It was the hardest decision I ever had to make in my life,” Madrigal said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday. “I didn’t want to let go in the first place, it was just something that had to be done.”

He cited the chain’s rapid growth — with operations reaching as far as Georgia at one point — as a main reason for shutting down his restaurant, saying ongoing disputes in his personal life are unrelated to the business.

Two days after closing Chando’s Tacos, on July 31, Madrigal appeared in court for a hearing regarding pending felony charges of domestic violence and battery. The case is still ongoing, with a hearing set for Nov. 6.

Madrigal said he needed to take some time off to reflect on himself and on the business, and he now feels “recharged” and “excited” to open his restaurants’ doors again with a new team supporting him.

For the new Chando’s Tacos, Madrigal said he is planning to return to the restaurant’s early 2010s era by harkening back to its former aesthetics and becoming involved in the day-to-day operations to focus on “quality, consistency and customer service.”

The Power Inn Road Chando’s is slated to reopen first, with the Arden Way location coming back within the following two weeks, Madrigal said. He has no plans for the former restaurants on Sacramento’s J Street and in Citrus Heights.

“I’m gonna be involved in every aspect of this baby I created,” he said.

Alongside the reopening, Madrigal said he is working on two new truck concepts he plans to operate as catering and special events vendors. Taquería Doña Paula will serve Michoacán-style bites in honor of Madrigal’s mother and her roots in the central Mexican state, while Baja Fish 916 will bring back his fish taco recipe that helped him reach the final round of “Chopped” in 2021, he said.

Madrigal said in the hours after posting the reopening announcement, he received many texts from supporters and Chando’s customers expressing excitement for its revitalization.

“Sacramento needs a Chando’s Tacos,” he said. “We’re a staple in the community.”

Camila Pedrosa

The Sacramento Bee

Camila Pedrosa is the California Diversions Reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She previously worked on The Bee’s service journalism team and was a summer reporting intern for The Bee in 2024. She graduated from Arizona State University with a master’s degree in mass communication.