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Iconic Mexican churreria El Moro to expand in LA
The beloved Mexican churreria El Moro is opening a second location in Los Angeles.
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Courtesy El Moro Churreria
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Iconic Mexican churreria 'El Moro' continues to expand in L.A.
A beloved churreria from Mexico City has expanded to Los Angeles. El Moro opened in Echo Park earlier this year – its second location in Southern California. The churro stand uses a recipe that’s nearly 100 hundred years old accompanied by a steaming cup of hot chocolate. LAist host Nereida Moreno spoke with owner Santiago Iriarte about El Moro's legacy.
Topline:
A beloved churreria from Mexico City is expanding its footprint in Southern California with a second location in Los Angeles. El Moro debuted in Echo Park in January, drawing lines out the door — and it’s getting ready to open a new shop in Culver City by the end of 2026.
The backstory: El Moro was founded in 1933 when Francisco Iriarte, an immigrant from northern Spain, started selling churros out of a food cart in the Zocalo, the historic main square in Mexico City. Its first brick-and-mortar location opened just a couple years later in 1935 — and it remains in business to this day, using its original recipes. The business has grown to nearly two dozen shops, and its first U.S. location opened in Costa Mesa in 2023.
Family business: The churreria is now being run by Iriarte’s great nephew, Santiago, who told LAist he was about 8 years old when he decided to get into the family business. He was moved after spotting El Moro in a 1950s guidebook for tourists while rummaging through a public library in the city. “ That's when I realized that I wanted to join my dad at some point,” he said, adding that he started working at El Moro full-time in college. ”I fell in love with it.”
Menu: The menu includes ice cream sandwiches, Mexican hot chocolate and iced lattes, and a variety of churros and dipping sauces — flavors like cajeta and chocolate. Here’s a full list.
SoCal locations: There's one in Echo Park at 1524 Sunset Blvd., and another in Costa Mesa located inside Mercado Gonzalez Northgate Market at 2300 Harbor Blvd.
This story was produced with help from Gillian Moran Pérez.
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