THE FOODIST / BARRIO LOGAN ICON FAV RETURNS

 

Ex-whiskey joint will soon be new shiny Las Cuatro Milpas, the crown jewel of Mexican style cuisine in San Diego

San Diego doesn’t often get second chances with its legends. When Las Cuatro Milpas went dark after ninety years on Logan Avenue, it felt less like a closure than a neighborhood memory being boarded up. 

The lines, the hand-rolled tortillas, the quiet choreography behind the counter — suddenly gone. Now the Barrio Logan institution is coming back. The family has secured a new home just a few blocks away inside Mercado del Barrio on National Avenue, moving into the former Liberty Call Distilling space. 

After the sale of the original property ended its historic run in 2025, the reopening signals something rare in San Diego dining: not a tribute, not a reboot — the real place, still run by the same family, still making the same food. If construction stays on schedule, the doors should open within the next month or two. 

Back in the day

Margarita Hernandez, nearing 79, plans to be back at the register. In a city where beloved restaurants usually become memories, Las Cuatro Milpas instead chose relocation over obituary. Hopefully, San Diego won’t just remember it — it will stand in line for it again. 

Note: Milpa is a traditional Mesoamerican term referring to a cultivated plot where corn (maize), beans, and squash are grown together — so the name evokes a rustic, traditional farming heritage rather than just four random fields.