Ernie Jr's Taco House, Pasadena/Eagle Rock 1970s

Ernie and Albina Cruz opened their first restaurant, Ernie’s, in their hometown of Lincoln Heights, California, in 1944, after Ernie returned from Army service in WWII. At first, the modest restaurant took only a few dollars a day, but the business began to take off following the end of the war and the subsequent economic boom.

New locations were added at Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood and in Eagle Rock and Pasadena.

According to a report in the LA Times, the couple divorced in 1955 and split ownership of the restaurants, with Ernie taking the Lincoln Heights and North Hollywood locations and Albina keeping the branches in Eagle Rock and Pasadena. After the split, Albina decided to name her restaurants after Ernie Jr, the couple’s eldest son. They also had two daughters Tere and Tina.

Ernie’s or Ernie’s Jr’s were where many people had their first taste of Mexican food and people traveled from miles around to taste North Mexican family recipes passed down from generation to generation.

House favorites included a grande burrito that the Pasadena Insider said was ‘as big as the log you’d put in your fireplace’ and huge family-style platters.

The Pasadena location was a local landmark for 55 years until it closed in 1998.

The Eagle Rock location with its classic Googie style neon sign represented on the front cover of this menu, closed in 2019 after serving the community for an admirable 59 years.

The family-related Ernie's Mexican Restaurant in North Hollywood remains open and maintains the same traditional recipes and ‘old school’ style of cooking.