Sonoratown opens a michelada bar in Mid-Wilshire. Next: Long Beach
Jennifer Feltham and Teodoro Diaz-Rodriguez Jr. recently realized that there’s almost nothing better than their own tortillería — unless, of course, the tortillería can also make micheladas.
The couple recently turned extra space at their Mid-Wilshire tortilla-making shop into Sonoratown Cantina, an offshoot of one of the best restaurants in Los Angeles, where they now serve white sangrias, micheladas rimmed with house-made chamoy, and local seltzers on tap. They’re sipped alongside some of the city’s top tacos, burritos and chivichangas, plus new dishes that blend the sentiments and upbringings of the two Sonoratown founders.
“It’s just like our household,” Feltham said. “It has to be that way, where we have to find some way of balancing our two very different ethos and what our culture is and where we come from.”
Feltham, from Torrance, and Diaz-Rodriguez, from San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, debuted their downtown taco temple to Sonora-style grilled meats and some of the freshest, chewiest flour tortillas in the region in 2016, then expanded with a Mid-Wilshire outpost in 2022.
When the space adjacent to their Mid-Wilshire restaurant became available, the team decided to add a tortillería. During the pandemic they attempted to keep up with demand for their award-winning flour tortillas by renting the kitchen of a small, closed-down restaurant, which was broken into multiple times.
Hoping for more safety and stability, they launched a tortillería inside their newer Sonoratown, churning out thousands of handmade tortillas a day. The tortillería had a surplus of space, and they dreamed of opening a small bar in an ode to those found in Diaz-Rodriguez’s hometown.
“Where Teo’s from, most of the convenience stores and gas stations have a little michelada bar built in,” Feltham said, “a very informal kind of thing where you can get those big 32-ounce michis that have carne seca on them, or olives, or shrimp and stuff. Whatever you like.”
The project started as a space for micheladas rimmed with candy and other flourishes, and a place to finally showcase a guava michelada recipe they’d been given by a friend but didn’t have the room or equipment to execute in their downtown location. (There, they serve a mix made by popular local outfit I Love Micheladas.)
But Feltham, a self-described “kooky American,” began to dream up new items that veered into U.S.-ubiquitous offerings: What if the cantina also offered frosé? Maybe they could install multiple slushie machines? What about bar snacks?
The first thing you notice about Sonoratown, the small counter-service taquería tucked amid the tailor shops and fabric outlets of downtown L.A.’
“It’s obviously gonna end up being a partnership, or a handshake, between those two very different ways of thinking,” she said, “and it’s still a work in progress as we throw our respective spaghettis against the wall.”
Diaz-Rodriguez, a former civil engineer, outlined the space for the bar, knocking down a wall to connect the cantina to the restaurant. He added barstools and scant tables, plus a handful of stools against the front window to add seating. Together they began developing a menu of new food items exclusive to the cantina, though tacos, chivis and other Sonoratown signatures can be ordered at the bar.
Nachos are a comfort food for Feltham at home and were top of mind when planning the cantina. Though nacho cheese sauce is prevalent in Sonora — especially on the region’s famous hot dogs — the restaurateur prefers only melted cheese on her nachos. Diaz-Rodriguez devised a thick, creamy cheese-sauce compromise made with cheddar, Monterey Jack and lemon juice that drips over tortilla chips along with a poblano-and-serrano crema, pinto beans, pickled jalapeños, a pinch of cotija and any meat from the regular Sonoratown menu. Another cantina-only snack, the elotes, are mesquite-grilled, rolled in mayonnaise and cotija, then drizzled with chiltepín salsa. The duo are brainstorming a salty new house-made bar snack, as well as fruit dusted with chiles and served with their own chamoy.
It’s been a busy season for Feltham and Diaz-Rodriguez. While opening the cantina they’ve been readying their largest Sonoratown yet: a 2,000-square-foot space in downtown Long Beach at 244 E. 3rd St.
Their third restaurant will seat roughly 45 and offer beer and wine — along with the same food menu of the other restaurants — and perhaps some of the house-made micheladas and other concoctions found at the cantina.
At the Mid-Wilshire tortillería, hidden behind the cantina, the work begins at 4:30 a.m. with tortilla maker Julia Guerrero and other staff mixing and pressing tortillas. (“It is the flour tortilla against which to judge all others in Los Angeles,” L.A. Times Food critic Bill Addison wrote.) When the Long Beach restaurant opens, ideally before the end of the year, the team will need to add another shift in the tortilla-making process to supply their new endeavor. It’s a move that, Feldman said, could lead to a fourth Sonoratown in the not-too-distant future.
“Adding a second shift would probably necessitate another Sonoratown opening,” Feltham said. “Dot dot dot.”
Sonoratown Cantina is open at 5610 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, from 2 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, with plans to extend days of operation.
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