At 2109 Sunset Boulevard, the ketchup-and-mustard building is closed and the stools are gone. At 1312 Echo Park Avenue, people are lining up again at the front window, now for adobada tacos topped with pineapple.
Echo Park's two best-known walk-up windows both changed this year, about three months apart. One closed and nobody has taken it over. The other reopened after almost a year of construction. What separates them comes down to who chose to step up to the counter next.
The Window on Sunset Had Stools and a Late Close
The Los Angeles Times reported that Burrito King closed for good in late June after 58 years. Julian E. Montoya, a Colombian immigrant, opened it in 1968. It was one of the first burrito stands in Los Angeles. In the 1980s it grew to 20 locations, reaching Anaheim, Houston and Bogotá. By the early 2000s only two were left: the painted original on Sunset, and a bungalow in Silver Lake near Hyperion and Rowena avenues that closed in 2011.
According to the Times, the stand opened for breakfast in its prime and stayed open past midnight. That made it the last stop of the night for anyone leaving a show at Spaceland or the Echoplex. Pat Saperstein, who founded EatingLA.com, told the paper that it "never really claimed to be the best Mexican food in town, but everyone had a soft spot for it, especially with those little stools that they had outside that made it like sitting at a diner."
Natalia Molina is an author and academic, and a third-generation Echo Park native. Her book "A Place at the Nayarit" is about her family's restaurant in the neighborhood, which has since closed. She told the Times how the window fit into her walk home from school:
"The workers knew your name. They asked how your day was, they looked out for you — it just made it feel like a transition between school and home."
That's what a walk-up window gives a street: a counter where a regular gets recognized. The Times story makes clear the stand's future was already uncertain before it closed. The Eastsider reported the property was listed for sale back in 2021. Tony Gonzalez, who runs Brazil Discount Tobacco next door, told the Times he had watched several owners come and go at the stand in recent years. L.A. TACO's account of the closing also said the building had been for sale for years.
The Window on Echo Park Avenue Waited for the Right Tenant
Los Burritos at 1312 Echo Park Avenue had been there since the early 1970s, according to The Eastsider. The paper noticed the boards going up before anyone announced a closing, and the business never said why it shut.
On September 24, Tijuanero by Tijuanazo opened there without much fanfare, after almost a year of construction. Eater LA reported that it serves tacos, burritos and aguas frescas "out of the beloved front window."
The family's ties to the window explain the reopening. Antonio and Claudia Esquivel started Tijuanazo in 2008 as a taco cart called Taco Nazo in Playas de Tijuana, and three years later opened their first restaurant in the same neighborhood. Their daughter Aria brought the business to East Los Angeles in August 2024. Eater reports that Antonio grew up in the area and remembered Los Burritos from his childhood. When Aria saw it had closed, she went after the space. "We also wanted to preserve it being a Hispanic, Latino-owned business," she told Eater.
The menu at the window:
- Adobada cooked on the trompo, with avocado crema and a slice of pineapple. Aria calls it the dish the taqueria was built on and its bestseller.
- Asada, birria, chorizo and a vegetarian option, each available as tacos, mulitas, burritos or vampiros.
- Daily aguas frescas such as horchata and jamaica, plus Mexican Coke and sparkling water.
When Eater ran its story, Tijuanero was open Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 10 p.m., and the hours were not yet final. Check before you go, especially on a Monday.
On Sunset, the Rent Decides What Happens Next
The block around Burrito King shows how a space gets filled once its old tenant leaves. Heavy Manners Library recently reopened two doors down at 2115 Sunset Boulevard, after moving from a smaller spot elsewhere in Echo Park. Founder Matthew James-Wilson told the Times the space had been empty for six months because the first asking rent was too high. He bargained it down to a rate he could manage.
When Burrito King closed, its space was listed for rent at $6,000 a month. No new tenant, lease or sign has been reported since. The Los Burritos window shows how long these turnovers can take: the new tenant still needed close to a year of construction before the first taco went out.
Meanwhile Heavy Manners is busy. LAist describes it as an independent library and community space that hosts classes, music, art shows and workshops. It opened in 2021 and has put on more than 1,000 events. Its fall comics fair ran October 17 and 18 at the new address. James-Wilson told the Times he stayed in Echo Park partly to bring foot traffic back to the street. He felt that more strongly after Taix closed in March to make way for a six-story residential building. Its events bring people to the 2100 block during the day, which any future food tenant at 2109 would also see.
Where the Late-Night Window Is Now
Burrito King used to cover both breakfast and the hours after midnight. Today the late shift has moved to a truck, the early evening belongs to a window on Echo Park Avenue, and the breakfast hours are still open.
| Spot | Address | Hours | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tijuanero by Tijuanazo | 1312 Echo Park Ave | Tue–Sun, noon–10 p.m., still being finalized | Open since Sept. 24 |
| El Flamin Taco truck | 2028 Sunset Blvd | Sun and Tue–Thu, 6 p.m.–2 a.m.; Fri–Sat, 6 p.m.–3 a.m. | Listed on the truck's own site |
| Heavy Manners Library | 2115 Sunset Blvd | Events calendar | Reopened at new address |
| Former Burrito King | 2109 Sunset Blvd | — | Closed late June; listed for rent at $6,000 a month |
El Flamin Taco's website lists its Echo Park truck at 2028 Sunset, open until 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. That's the closest match to Burrito King's old after-midnight hours on this part of Sunset. Tijuanero covers the earlier evening. Nobody has filled Burrito King's breakfast slot.
Halloween weekend puts both windows to use. The Echo's calendar lists Spooky Feels, an indie and electronic Halloween dance party, at the Echoplex on Saturday, October 31. The Eastsider's Halloween guide lists The Booth Bash at The Hunt Vintage on October 30 and 31, from 7 to 11 p.m. It's free and built around vintage photo booths. If you want to eat first, get to the Tijuanero window before 10. When the Echoplex lets out, the El Flamin Taco truck at 2028 Sunset is listed as open until 3 a.m.
If you own a property in Echo Park with a history like the stand at 1312 Echo Park Avenue and want to talk about what it means for its next chapter, Michael Fenton is a third-generation Angeleno who takes that history seriously. Book a confidential consultation.