Next week, California Tortilla will open its second location in central Florida, bringing its Mexican menu to Melbourne. The fast-casual restaurant is centrally located in the heart of the Space Coast, a national leading engineering and medical corridor with some of Florida's best retirement communities.

California Tortilla opened its first store 20 years ago in Bethesda, Maryland, and has since expanded northward to new markets including Philadelphia, the greater New York metropolitan area, and made its greater Orlando debut in February 2016 in Kissimmee.

Dale Warden, owner of both the Melbourne and Kissimmee locations, has long been an enthusiastic fan of California Tortilla, won over by the quality and freshness of its food and “Mexican Re-Imagined” brand. 

“California Tortilla doesn’t just put out a quality product, they create a one-of-a-kind experience,” Warden says. “When you look at customer satisfaction, menu variety, the system they’re providing to franchisees, and the unit economics, in every one of those areas, California Tortilla offered exactly what I wanted.”

Warden thought Central Florida would be a perfect fit for a new location.

“Florida is now the third most populous state, and demographics show that the population is booming in the Central Florida area,” he says.  “Brevard, in particularly, has started to see tremendous retail growth over the past few years, and shows no signs of slowing down.”

California Tortilla Melbourne is located in the Pineda Landings shopping center anchored by Fresh Market, bringing in customers looking for value, fresh food, and a fun environment. The restaurant seats 64 inside, with additional outdoor seating available for up to 30.

Warden plans to open two additional locations in Central Florida this year.

“By end of this year, we’ll be flying flags from the Atlantic Coast to Tampa Bay, and will have created over 130 jobs,” Warden says.

California Tortilla Melbourne will celebrate the grand opening by serving free burritos and a beverage for both lunch and dinner service, on Tuesday, July 12. Plus, they’ll be offering free burritos for a year to the first 10 customers in line that day.