KPBS Midday Edition

Matriarch Of Roberto's Taco Shop Dies

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published July 30, 2020 at 11:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Memorial announcement for the late Dolores Robledo, 90, co-founder of Roberto's Taco Shop, July 2020.

The matriarch behind one of San Diego’s most iconic Mexican fast-food chains has died.

Dolores Robledo, who co-founded Roberto's Taco Shop with her husband, will be laid to rest Thursday. She was 90.

The couple opened their first restaurant in 1964 after immigrating to California from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. Today, the chain has 70 locations. Roberto's is credited with creating the California burrito and inspiring dozens of "bertos" taco shop offshoots across the Southwest.

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Pam Kragen, who wrote an obituary on Robledo in the San Diego Union-Tribune and San Diego food writer Mario Cortez joined Midday Edition on Thursday to discuss Roberto's influence in San Diego and beyond.

Matriarch Of Roberto's Taco Shop Dies

Dolores Robledo co-founded one of the nation's first Mexican fast-food chains in the country. She was 90 years old.

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KPBS Midday Edition Food

Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Marissa Cabrera

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Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

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