This Popular California Restaurant Chain Is Closing Locations In 2025

As many restaurant chains are struggling across the nation due to labor issues, inflation, and changing dining habits, a popular restaurant intent on expanding within the Golden State has announced the closure of two of its locations.

Quesadilla Gorilla owners Miguel and Mikayla Reyes posted on Facebook that it was shutting down its restaurants in Tulare and Hanford by the end of 2025. Open for less than two years and employing about a dozen people, Tulare closed on November 9, a date that the owners admitted was sooner than planned. The Hanford location, which operated for five years, will shut down on December 20. "These weren't easy decisions, but we truly believe the Lord is leading us into a season of pruning, a season to trust Him, to be obedient in what's next, and to make room for new fruit to grow," they wrote, adding that anyone wishing to take over one of their restaurant locations can DM (direct message) them. (How much money do restaurant franchise owners really make?)

The chain continues to operate at three locations: downtown Visalia, Fresno's Tower District, and in San Luis Obispo. The chain's owners also plan to open a new location in Clovis in early 2026.

Quesadilla Gorilla started in 2013 as a small 400-square-foot space next door to Visalia's historic Fox Theater. The restaurant came about after a previous concept, a small pizza shop called Pi Hole, failed to take off. That's when Miguel Reyes decided to fall back on something they knew: quesadillas. Those quesadillas would be made with fresh ingredients that range from chicken, black beans, salsa, cheese, and carne asada to Nutella or peanut butter and jelly. Customers would also have the option to create their own quesadillas.

By 2019, Fortune Magazine named Quesadilla Gorilla as the third-fastest-growing inner-city business in the U.S. as the restaurant expanded. By 2023, the restaurant peaked at seven locations and there were plans, through franchise deals, to expand beyond California to as many as 150 locations within a decade, per VoyageUtah.

Miguel Reyes admitted to YourCentralValley.com that the twists and turns of operating a restaurant chain were draining his physical and mental health, hence why he and his wife are trying to franchise their locations. Of the three restaurants now operating, the San Luis Obispo location is run by a franchiser, The Street reported. However, the owners are offering Quesadilla Gorilla franchising opportunities in California, Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin for entrepreneurs with up to $761,152 to invest.