Tacos El Ultimo Baile to close Oakland shop, move to San Francisco's Ikea food hall
After originating in Oakland and spending a decade in the city, Tacos El Ultimo Baile is closing up shop and moving across the bridge to San Francisco.
"It seems like it's a little brighter on that side," said owner Dominic Prado
Prado says his taco business has taken different forms over the years: a popup, a food truck, and most recently, a restaurant at Fruitvale Public Market. The restaurant opened in October of 2022, but less than two years later, in July of 2024, it was forced to close.
"People are not out as much as they used to be," said Prado about the current state of the Fruitvale District."People are not out here at all."
He said there's very little foot traffic, and he believes people don't feel safe there.
That inspired him to run for Oakland City Council last November, he called out elected officials and police over safety issues in the area. He ultimately lost to Noel Gallo.
Now he's keeping his business afloat with catering jobs and he's trying to sell the Fruitvale location.
"What I've seen here is a lack of investment, a lack of attention," said Prado. "A lack of respect for the people who live here and work day to day."
He also felt a lack of support from The Unity Council, the non-profit corporation that owns and oversees the public market.
He was vocal about it.
"I think I spoke up when no one else wanted to about the situation here and I'll continue to do what I can, but I didn't make the change I wanted to see," explained Prado. "If you take a stroll through international, you'll see some of the conditions there and that's what's been the hardest part."
So he's taking his northern Mexican-style wood-fired tacos to San Francisco. At the end of the month, he'll be moving into a location at Saluhall, the Ikea food hall on Market Street.
"Saluhall has been welcoming, they're eager, they're excited," said Prado. "The PR team that they have is going to work wonders for my brand. Oakland is a tough place right now. It's not welcoming. There's not a lot of support for small businesses."
Prado said he's impressed by the investment he's seeing from the new San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. Prado thinks he's incentivizing small businesses and cleaning up the area around Market Street.
"We live in major cities and there's always going to be some kind of element, but I think what they're doing downtown in San Francisco at Market is actually really promising," said Prado.
Prado's agreement is for a four-month trial, with an option to extend if the business is successful.
We reached out to The Unity Council for comment, but they did not respond at the time of this report.
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