Burnt Tortilla

As a young girl, Kathy Barbosa, owner of the “The Burnt Tortilla,” loved to dance. Born into a family of seven brothers and sisters, there were many chores to be done. Kathy’s everyday chore was to grill homemade tortillas for dinner. The only problem was that Kathy would put the music on and begin to dance while grilling the tortillas! While dancing she would completely forget the tortillas as they burned on the comal (a flat cast iron skillet). On any given night, you could smell burnt tortillas at the home of the Cardenas family.

In 1974, Kathy decided to open up a small taco restaurant, the original “Burnt Tortilla,” located at 1725 Redondo Beach Blvd. in Gardena, California. Family members pitched in to help with the painting, wallpapering, electrical work and A/C. Even one of Kathy’s teenage nephews painted male and female children on the restroom doors. Other family members took care of her six month old daughter and 2 year old son at the restaurant.

While calling to get the utilities turned on, Kathy was asked for the business name. She had not been thinking of a name with all the commotion going on. The name “Burnt Tortilla” popped into her head. And that’s how “The Burnt Tortilla” came to be.