Popular Mexican restaurant closes permanently after 4 years in SLO. Here’s why

Anna Armstrong
·2 min read
13

Taco Temple, a California Mexican fusion restaurant with two locations in San Luis Obispo County, permanently closed one of its establishments Dec. 31, after four years in business.

The San Luis Obispo location at 1575 Calle Joaquin, which opened its doors in 2019 in the building formerly occupied by Margie’s Diner, was the second Taco Temple in the county. The original opened in Morro Bay more than two decades ago.

The Morro Bay restaurant at 2680 North Main St. will remain open for business. The Morro Bay location is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

According to business partner Gretchen Ross, the closure of the restaurant comes after a slowdown in business following the pandemic and a loss of the lunch trade.

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Taco Temple opened a second location in the former Margie’s Diner spot on Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo in 2019. The restaurant closed in December 2023. The original eatery is in Morro Bay and remains open.
Taco Temple opened a second location in the former Margie’s Diner spot on Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo in 2019. The restaurant closed in December 2023. The original eatery is in Morro Bay and remains open.

“The bottom line is we just didn’t have the same volume of business that we had pre-pandemic,” Ross said. “We’re just feeling awful.”

In spite of the sadness of the closing, Ross told The Tribune that both the employees and customers at Taco Temple were “fabulous” and they will miss being able to stay open.

“We’ve had a great run, and we wish that we could have gone on and stayed open forever,” Ross said.

According to Ross, the owners are looking to lease or sell the building to another vendor.

The Taco Temple closure is the latest in a string of business shutterings in San Luis Obispo and the county as a whole.

Paso Robles restaurant Cali Grill also closed Dec. 31, citing a similar post-pandemic slowdown in business, while in downtown San Luis Obispo, Tortilla Town abruptly closed Dec. 18 when its lease expired.

Taco Temple opened a second location in the former Margie’s Diner spot on Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo in 2019. The restaurant closed in December 2023. The original eatery is in Morro Bay and remains open.
Taco Temple opened a second location in the former Margie’s Diner spot on Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo in 2019. The restaurant closed in December 2023. The original eatery is in Morro Bay and remains open.