California fish taco chain Rubio’s Coastal Grill files for bankruptcy after minimum wage law cripples business

Rubio’s Coastal Grill, a California-based restaurant chain known for its fish tacos, filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Wednesday.

The company said earlier in June that it would close down 48 locations while keeping 86 restaurants open in California, Arizona, and Nevada. 

Rubio’s blamed the closings on “the rising cost of doing business in California.”

Rubio’s has over $100 million in debt, according to a bankruptcy petition filed Wednesday.

Rubio’s previously filed for bankruptcy in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic caused it to shutter 26 underperforming restaurants and exit the Colorado and Florida markets.