Sal's Tacos continues to serve after year-long closure
For Sal's Tacos manager Hugo Zarate, the historic restaurant has become a place he is proud to represent because of all of the stories he's heard and continues to hear from loyal customers who have strong connections with the business.
“Sal's Tacos has been a local restaurant for 60 years and the reason I've fallen in love with this establishment are the stories that the people who have been coming for years have,” Zarate emphasized in Spanish.
One of these stories includes a couple he said recently came in to recreate the moment they met over two decades ago.
“(They) met while eating at one of these tables,” Zarate said while sitting at one of the restaurant's decorated booths. “They got engaged, married, had kids and it was with a torta de milanesa that they started that journey. After more than 21 years, they returned here to remember the day that they met.”
Additionally, he said he was touched by the story of an old woman from Argentina who has lived in West Sacramento for years.
“Her health has been declining in the two years I've worked here, but she doesn't stop coming,” Zarate highlighted. “She asks her granddaughters to bring her to Sal's Tacos and she loves it. It makes me very happy that people feel so welcome here and that we make them feel like they're family.”
Zarate explained that owner Ernesto Delgado acquired the restaurant located at 400 C St. in 2018 bringing his experience as owner of Tequila Museo Mayahuel and La Cosecha in downtown Sacramento and Mesa Mercado in Carmichael, according to the restaurant's website.
A New Year's Day fire in 2021 caused by an electrical shortage forced the restaurant to close for over a year. Although the fire damage was not extensive, the restaurant was closed for so long because of building code requirements that needed to be addressed.
Although Zarate noted some customers stopped coming to the restaurant due to a decrease in the quality of service before Delgado's takeover and the fire, he highlighted changes the owner has implemented to ensure quality service and cleanliness.
“We make the food fresh here, everything is 100% here and everything is made here including our mole, which has an intricate process to be made,” Zarate emphasized.
Furthermore, Zarate argued that what makes the restaurant special and unique to the city is the history behind it, its eclectic look reminiscent of a traditional Mexican restaurant and the welcoming atmosphere that makes customers feel like they're at home.
“Sal's Tacos has a history here that I don't even think the original owners understood how important this place was going to be,” he remarked. “Many people say they come here because their parents brought them when they were young and now they bring their grandkids here, so it continues the chain.”
For anyone who hasn't visited Sal's Tacos in West
Sacramento or Yolo County, Zarate said they are welcome any time to enjoy an authentic Mexican meal while listening to good music and taking pictures with some of the restaurant's iconic decorations.
“Incredibly even though this place has been here for 60 years, there are a lot of locals who have never been here,” Zarate remarked. “I would love to tell them to come and give themselves an opportunity to try our food, like our famous crispy tacos.”
Florencio Verdin, an employee who worked for Sal's for a short while in 2019 prior to the pandemic and returned in 2021, said people have loved the changes that have been made since the change of ownership and the fire in 2021.