Sky’s Gourmet Tacos, the popular Mid-City taco shop that opened in 1992 with a soul food-inflected take on Mexican cuisine, will close permanently on Aug. 15. Owner Barbara Burrell says she is in the process of securing a new space that will allow her to pivot the business to a catering model.
“Economically, it just doesn’t make sense anymore,” says Burrell, who kept her restaurant running through the 1992 riots, the Northridge earthquake, the deaths of her youngest son and her fiancé, and her battle with cancer. She cites a changing restaurant industry, diminished foot traffic and growing competition from ghost kitchens, as well as rent and utility increases, as reasons for the closure.
The full menu, including all-day breakfast, burritos, nachos, bowls and generously sized tacos with fillings that pull influence from soul food traditions, is available to order through Aug. 15. As she prepares to say goodbye to the sprawling patio space with an attached parking lot, Burrell plans to be at the restaurant as often as possible and will even return to the kitchen to prepare signature dishes, including her famous shrimp tacos that get bathed alongside tortillas in a tangy-spicy red sauce, then drizzled with cheese and a cabbage slaw.
Margaret Johnson, a longtime customer at Sky’s who grew up in the surrounding Mid-City neighborhood, says that the restaurant represents the possibility of Black ownership. “It’s just sad to see that not only [are] small businesses closing, but those that are Black-owned are closing.”
But Johnson plans to remain a loyal customer of Sky’s, regardless of how it takes shape in the future. “I’ll be back multiple times before they close,” she says. “I’ve used her catering services before, and I definitely plan to support in that way moving forward.”
Once a hub for Black-owned restaurants, the stretch of Pico Boulevard that Sky’s Gourmet Tacos occupies has changed dramatically in recent years. In January 2023, Roscoe’s Chicken n’ Waffles closed its Pico location after 32 years. Nearby, My 2 Cents, the California soul destination helmed by chef-owner Alisa Reynolds, closed last summer after 12 years in the neighborhood. Just one block over from Sky’s, celebrity-favorite Stevie’s Creole Cafe is still going strong with po’boy sandwiches, gumbo and daily specials.
“This neighborhood has become strong,” Burrell says. “Moving here initially, it’s like everybody’s kind of like all over the place, and this wasn’t really a neighborhood as solidly as it is now. But people came, it became a destination, Sky’s did. People came from all over, which was just a wonderful thing. And what did I know? I’m just on the grill. Just let me do some tacos, OK?”
Tacos have been a guiding force in Burrell’s life since childhood. At 12 years old, she ate her first taco in Waukegan, Ill., outside Chicago — an overall disappointing experience — but curiosity propelled her to dive deeper into the staple Mexican dish.
She persuaded her mother to take her to a Latin market where she bought tortillas — then sold in a can — and began experimenting with making her own at home.
When she moved to San Diego in the early ‘70s, Burrell found herself in National City every Saturday morning, where she watched tortillas made fresh by hand and was introduced to guacamole.
And in 1992, nine months into unemployment after quitting her decade-long career in wealth management, tacos became the gateway to entrepreneurship.
“I woke up one morning and said, ‘Tacos!’ ” Burrell told The Times in a 2024 interview.
She opened Sky’s Gourmet Tacos on Pico Boulevard that year, making tacos on a 24-inch Wolf stovetop. She eventually moved to the restaurant’s current location just down the street.
It turns out that Burrell’s approach — coined as “Mexican with a splash of soul” — was already common in Black households across Southern California. Sky’s, alongside places like Taco Pete, which opened in South L.A. in 1989, helped mainstream this soulful take on tacos, and it has since caught on at Black-owned restaurants across the region.
At its height, Sky’s Gourmet Tacos had an additional marketplace location with a deli and grab-and-go items in Marina Del Rey, as well as a cloud kitchen in downtown L.A. She had a deal to launch an expansive location in Hollywood Park in Inglewood in late 2022, but those plans eventually fell through.
“I’m taking the bull by the horns and I’m saying: Let’s focus. Let’s go back to what we know,” says Burrell. “We don’t know where we are with the walk-ins that come in. But we know our catering is solid.”
Burrell’s son Victor Burrell remains president of the business, with her daughter-in-law Marie Burrell serving as head of catering. She will continue to sell her packaged “sassy” sauce and seasoning blends, along with other Sky’s merchandise.
“This isn’t because we failed,” Burrell says. “It’s because businesses evolve. We’re continuing through our catering and other opportunities and we’re looking forward.”