If you’ve eaten Cielito Lindo’s long, cylindrical beef taquitos smothered in avocado salsa; chile Colorado burritos; tamales; or chiles rellenos, you’ve taken part in Los Angeles history. The enduring Olvera Street restaurant originally opened in 1934
and remains one of Los Angeles’s most beloved icons. There was some concern about the restaurant’s future when it temporarily closed in May 2026, but after a six-week closure, Cielito Lindo reopened on June 22.
This week, I made a long overdue trip to Olvera Street to see how the classic Mexican restaurant is faring just weeks into its reopening. As an Altadena native, the first of my many visits to this corridor took place when I was seven years old, spilling out of a school bus to walk the length of the vibrating plaza. This activity remains a rite of passage for many Southern California students: City of Los Angeles field trips to local landmarks are baked into the school curriculum. Trips included bus rides and adventures to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County; the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum (which closed on July 7 for a two-year renovation); and Olvera Street, one of the oldest market corridors in Los Angeles.
As I walked through Olvera Street in 2026, it felt too quiet. It’s a stunning contrast to the typically spirited, music- and laughter-filled street with friends and family taking time to connect, vendors selling bright Jalisco dresses, various touristy tchotchkes, huarache sandals, and, of course, food. Travelers and locals used to pile out of Union Station and migrate one block over to walk the historic strip; many would end up on the north end, where they could order a beef taquito the size of a small child’s forearm at Cielito Lindo.
The mood when I went felt particularly somber because of the absence of the market’s core businesses. Many have closed, including La Golondrina, which opened in 1930. The ones that remain continue to struggle, including Cielito Lindo. Aurora Guerrero, who immigrated to the United States from Zacatecas, Mexico, opened Cielito Lindo on the historic marketplace stretch in 1934. The restaurant remains in the family, even after Susanna MacManus (Guerrero’s daughter) took over and became the face of the business in the 1990s. MacManus and her sister Dianna Robertson died in 2025, leaving Cielito Lindo in family’s hands with Guerrero’s great-grandchildren at its helm in 2026.
I spoke with Viviana MacManus, Susanna’s daughter, about the future of her family’s restaurant. Like many restaurants throughout the region, the extended impact of the pandemic, SAG-AFTRA strikes, the Eaton and Palisades fires, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, and overall economic downturn has taken its toll. MacManus also cited safety concerns and internal struggles, which, according to the Los Angeles Times, include a family lawsuit and allegations of employees “skimming cash” from the restaurant. On the city-owned Olvera Street, it’s become more difficult to thrive.
“The Latino community stopped coming out as much after the ICE raids and xenophobic attacks on the community,” says Viviana. “Olvera Street is very much a center for a lot of Latino diaspora to come together at church, food, or dancing. We noticed that the traffic petered out. Multiple Olvera Street restaurants have suffered greatly, like La Golondrina that shuttered permanently.”
The family closed its sister Olvera Street restaurant, Las Anitas, to focus on one business, and will reopen the prep kitchen in Lincoln Heights on Broadway Avenue as a takeout-only commissary sometime in 2026. The future takeaway spot will have far more street parking than Downtown, Viviana says. For now, fans are still coming back to the original Cielito Lindo, but not in numbers that meet the pre-pandemic crowds, yet.
The ultimate missing key? Los Angeles residents, who are what makes Olvera Street the marvel that it is. It’s the historic site where Los Angeles celebrates Día de los Muertos, the Blessing of the Animals, and Las Posadas during Christmas. Where people have gathered in community for over a century. Without our presence, the birthplace of Los Angeles dies. If you can’t visit just yet, donate via GoFundMe, whose proceeds will be shared among Olvera Street’s remaining vendors.
“We’re heartened by the community response who share memories from their childhood,” says Viviana. “Their loyalty is such a beautiful part of our family business. We’re proud to be part of this legacy and want to continue this LA landmark for generations to come.”
More for the table
- It’s an adventure to dine at Los Angeles’s longstanding restaurants. Start by plotting your own crawl using Eater Los Angeles’s classic restaurants list.
- When figuring out where to have breakfast or lunch this weekend, Inglewood’s the Serving Spoon (a 2026 James Beard Foundation classic) has just what you need: a stack of pancakes, omelets, French toast, or turkey chops with grits and eggs.
- Venice saw the return of a longtime favorite this week with the Tasting Kitchen. Chef Casey Lane and his team have been working overtime to reopen the groundbreaking restaurant, which temporarily closed after a 2023 fire.
