Home Care in Adelanto, CA

The permanent closing of dozens of underperforming Rubio’s Coastal Grill restaurants, including one in Adelanto, has left some residents shocked and concerned.

Employees at the popular fast-casual taco restaurant, located at the corner of Highway 395 and Palmdale Road in Adelanto, were seen picking up their checks over the weekend.

One former Rubio’s employee, who declined to be identified, told the Daily Press that they received no warning about the closure of the popular restaurant near Stater Bros.

The Adelanto Rubio’s was one of 48 underperforming restaurants in California that were permanently shuttered, according to Restaurant Business.

“I’m floored that Rubio’s closed,” said Donna Brinkley of Adelanto. “It’s been our go-to place at least once a week for the last three years.”

Frank Bucco of Victorville told the Daily Press he’s concerned that the closure of Rubio’s is the “tip of an economic iceberg” that will soon “sink more restaurants.”

“If you have a financially strong restaurant with plenty of customers, you’re going to survive a minimum wage increase or the rising cost of doing business, said Bucco, a human resources manager. “Unfortunately. I think we’re going to see more struggling restaurants close over the next two years.”

Rubio stated that after the recent shutdowns, which happened on May 31, the company is left with 86 stores in California, Arizona, and Nevada.

Rubio’s, which has struggled with weak sales for years, blamed the closures on the operating environment in the state, which in April started requiring fast food chain restaurants with 60 units or more, to pay workers a minimum of $20 per hour.

“Making the decision to close a store is never an easy one,” Rubio’s said in a statement, adding that the company made that decision “after a thorough review of its operations and business climate.”

The closures came about 3.5 years after Rubio’s declared bankruptcy in a move forward with “comprehensive financial restructuring” to recapitalize the brand, according to QSR.

At the time, Rubio’s had 167 locations and was saddled with $82.3 million in debt. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, about 45% of the company’s support center and field management were furloughed as well as more than 1,400 store workers, QSR reported.

Additionally, 26 underperforming units were permanently shuttered between May and June 2020. In addition to the pandemic, Rubio’s cited the saturation of the fast-casual market, minimum wage increases, and the growth of off-premises as factors contributing to the bankruptcy.

In 1983, Frank Rubio opened his first Rubio's in San Diego after he was inspired by a spring break trip to San Felipe, Baja California, where he first encountered the fish taco.

Since then, the company said it has sold more than 250 million fish tacos in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Florida. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of stores in Florida, Utah and Colorado, the company said.

Rubio's was purchased by private-equity firm Mill Road Capital in 2010 for $91 million. In 2015, the concept changed its name from Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill to Rubio’s Coastal Grill as part of a renewed focus on seafood, according to Nation's Restaurant Review.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

After federal agents detained undocumented workers from three worksites in downtown Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, many Southern California families have been worried sick and distraught as they have not heard from their loved ones.

It turns out that many of them are in Adelanto, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, without access to phones to call their family and lawyers, according to Southern California lawmakers.

As five members of the U.S. House of Representatives finally were able to tour the Adelanto Processing Center Tuesday after being turned away nearly two weeks ago, the officials who represent Southern California districts said they got to meet with some of their constituents who were taken during the raids.

Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes parts of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley, said she and her colleagues saw the kitchen, medical facility and holding cells inside the detention center.

“At the cell, (detainees) said they did not have a change of clothes for 10 days. Not a change of underwear,” she said. “They had the same towel to wash over and over.”

Chu said she got to hear a man, who claims to have been taken from his store, was approached by federal agents and then taken to different detention facilities.

“He was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he was squeezed in in quarters, not given food for 12 hours, could not contact any of his family members nor any legal representative, had no phone contact whatsoever during that time period until he went to the Santa Ana Detention Center and then to Adelanto,” Chu described. “And that's not right.”

The longtime Democratic lawmaker also said the population of the Adelanto Processing Center went from 350 to 1,200 in a matter of 10 days in June. While not all detainees were not arrested from downtown LA raids, some of them were sent to Texas and Florida.

Rep. Mark Takano, who represents the Inland Empire district, said a DACA recipient and families were arrested during their court appearance.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, who took over the South LA district after then-Congresswoman Karen Bass resigned to run for Los Angeles mayor, said she visited the detention center in search of a constituent with disabilities.

“I have a constituent who is deaf and mute and was picked up by ICE and transported,” she said. “We are still looking for him.”

For those looking for their loved ones, Chu recommended that they reach out for help as various nonprofits, such as ACLU, CHIRLA and the Immigrant Defenders as well as some consulate offices are trying to track down who was taken and to where they were sent.

“They are ready, willing and able to help. Do not hesitate,” Chu said, promising to follow up on what she saw and heard while urging the detention center to address the “inhumane conditions.”

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to NBC Los Angeles’ request for comment.

The GEO Group, which owns the ICE Processing Center, said in a statement that its “support services are monitored by ICE and other organizations within the Department of Homeland Security to ensure strict compliance with ICE detention standards.”