The story of Nopalito began long before our 2009 opening. It started in the small village of El Aguila in the coastal city of Catemaco in Veracruz, Mexico, where chef/owner Gonzalo Guzman first learned to cook from his mother Alicia. As the eldest of three, Gonzalo worked in the fields, learning to grow corn, beans, chiles and tomatoes, and preparing meals for his family. From a very young age he established a connection with the land and developed a deep appreciation for the ingredients, traditions and techniques of Mexican cooking. After leaving home at the age of 13, Gonzalo lived in Puebla and Mexico City before coming to San Francisco. Twelve years and many restaurants later, Gonzalo met future partners Allyson Jossel and Jeff Hanak and the dream of Nopalito took shape. Nopalito would combine traditional, from-scratch Mexican cooking with the vibrant, local ingredients of the Bay Area. The beverage program would center around tequila, mezcal and fresh aguas frescas, and the hospitality would emulate the warmth of Mexican culture. And on February 8, 2009, we first opened our doors.

In 2011 we launched our catering department and began a retail line that includes our salsas, chips, and spicy garbanzo beans. One year later we opened our second location on 9th Avenue in the warm and welcoming neighborhood of the Inner Sunset. And in 2018, with our dear friend Stacy Adimando, Gonzalo wrote Nopalito: A Mexican Kitchen which won a James Beard Award for “Best International Cookbook” later that year.

In June 2020, after facing the harsh and inarguable realities of the Pandemic, we closed our 9th Avenue location after nine years. To say this was a difficult decision would be the grossest of understatements; but amidst the heartbreak, a (literal) window of hope arrived in the form of Bi-Rite’s former soft serve space on 18th Street. Our 18th St taco window served tacos, rice bowls and totopos con chili topped with carnitas, pollo or veggies. In March of 2024 we closed our 18th St. taco window and moved all our focus back into our original Broderick location where we had just celebrated our quinceañera!

Mexican food is about community and there is true beauty in the sharing of it. We look forward to welcoming you at our Broderick St. restaurant where we cook, serve and celebrate the food that we love so deeply.

Somos luchadores. Somos familia. Somos Nopalito.