El Moro, Mexico City’s most iconic and popular churro maker, is opening in the current Patra Burgers on Sunset building in Echo Park sometime in May 2025. CEO Santiago Iriarte confirmed the news to Eater, saying Patra will continue to operate there until the end of the year, after which the building will undergo a complete renovation to accommodate the new churro shop.

El Moro has been open in Mexico City since 1935, with 17 locations featuring the chain’s signature white-and-blue design motif. In November 2023, El Moro opened inside Costa Mesa’s Mercado González, bringing its sugar-tossed fritters to the United States for the first time. All its locations feature churro-making displayed front and center, which allows guests waiting in line to peer through large windows to watch workers fry, cut, and dust the fritters with sugar to order.

Iriarte’s great uncle, Francisco, founded El Moro as a cart and then opened a shop in the Mexico City neighborhood of Eje Central. In 2014, El Moro hired famed designer Nacho Cadena to rebrand the restaurant into something that would translate to a younger and more modern audience, according to Mexican Insights.

As of September 2021, the standalone building in which Patra operates at the corner of Sunset and Laveta Terrace was put up for sale and has since been sold. Opened in the 1970s as one of LA’s classic fast-food diners, Patra has continued to operate despite the neighborhood gentrification surrounding it. Infatuation said they “loved Patra’s with our full heart,” citing the sometimes slow service but old-school charm, like burgers wrapped in yellow parchment paper. The outdoor dining area even offers free Wi-Fi.

The arrival of El Moro into Los Angeles (via Costa Mesa) signals a larger effort to expand the Mexican churro shop into the United States. Iriarte tells Eater that he intentionally chose Echo Park as his first LA location due to its history as a Latino and Hispanic community. “We wanted to bring a traditional brand from Mexico, appealing to people who might’ve visited Mexico City and tried El Moro with their families while downtown,” he says. “We’re searching for our core nostalgic customer.”

After Los Angeles, Iriarte thinks El Moro can begin national and international expansion. He chose California based on its substantial Mexican population but is considering Nevada and Texas for future locations. “I want to be the first traditional Mexican [food] brand to go out of Mexico and into the United States,” Iriarte says. “We want to take a business of tradition and take it to the rest of the world.”

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