Mission Buzz: Los Coyotes taqueria rides again

Taqueria Los Coyotes — famously known in the Mission District as the home of the California burrito — could be back at 3032 16th St. at Wiese Street by the end of the year, if a deal is finalized with the building’s current owner. 

Four years after a fire at the three-story building displaced the business and 22 residents upstairs, reconstruction work is underway. 

“We’re happy and just hoping that everything goes well,” said Los Coyotes’ co-owner, Javier Guzman. 

In its heyday, Taqueria Los Coyotes had two locations in San Francisco. The first one opened in the late ’90s near Geneva Avenue and Mission Street and was known as “la casa de la barbacoa” for serving the slow-cooked meat dish with traditional seasonings from Mexico City and Puebla. The restaurant sold about 10 years after its opening. Currently, a restaurant called La Costa occupies the space.

The second location at 16th and Wiese streets opened in 2005 and became a popular late night destination for club-goers on 16th Street.

The building’s new owner, Sam Devdhara, said they are working on the terms for the taqueria’s return. 

“I’m looking forward to bringing them back,” he said.

Eight years after its initial closure, Cholo Soy, a Peruvian restaurant specializing in Northern Peruvian cuisine, is back in business at a new location at 2801 Folsom St. at 24th Street.

“I started cooking at that age,” said its owner, Yarel Caldas pointing to a six or seven-year-old-boy dining with his mother at Cholo Soy on a recent Wednesday. “I could already make stews, soups and rice.”

Cholo Soy has strong roots. Caldas’s father had been a fisherman in northern Peru before he moved inland to the Andean highlands and opened a restaurant. Caldas’s ceviche recipe comes from his father.

Cholo Soy’s beginings date back to around 2010. Caldas had just gone through a divorce and he seriously considered returning to Peru, where most of his family still resides. With no clear path forward and his daughter in this country, Caldas decided instead to take a shot at his dream of opening a restaurant.

“I said to myself, ‘I’m gonna do what I cherish and love so much. I’m gonna follow my dream and open my restaurant,” said Caldas.

Caldas worked a full-time day job at a restaurant downtown and collected bottles and cardboard at night for two years to save money to open the business. Finally, in 2012, Cholo Soy opened its doors in 2012 at Plaza Adelante, the incubator run by Mission Economic Development Agency at 2301 Mission St. at 19th.

Food reviewers were quick to praise the restaurant, particularly the ceviche. Even then, Caldas said, he kept working another job for another two years before he decided to dedicate to Cholo Soy full-time. His business acumen, he said, comes from his mother.

Caldas opened another restaurant called El Ají at 3015 Mission St. near 26th Street in 2015. In 2018, he closed Cholo Soy for reasons he preferred not to detail.

A new bar and restaurant, Stray Dog, filed an application last week to open at 2545 24th St. at Utah Street. The storefront was formerly occupied by Junior, a bar that closed in late 2024. 

The application was filed by OK BAY LLC and listed Angela Cao as the company’s agent.

Cao is the owner of Blackwood, a restaurant in the Marina District, and Lost Cat Bar and Bites near Union Square. An employee at each one of these locations confirmed it was the same Angela Cao who was opening the new business on 24th Street.

Cao was not immediately available for comment.

Mission Arts Performance Project, also popularly known as MAPP will be on  Saturday April 4.

For over 20 years, MAPP has taken over different public and private spaces for  free community events ranging from poetry readings and live music to plays. 

Mapp takes place in the Mission on the first Saturday of every other month. Events usually start early in the afternoon and run until around midnight. All events are free and open to the public. You can get your schedule here.