California Tortilla has closed its location at 10721 Columbia Pike in Shoppes of Burnt Mills shopping center in Silver Spring. The restaurant is listed as permanently closed on Google Business and no longer appears on the California Tortilla website.
In November, the company also closed its restaurant at 255 Spectrum Ave. in the Spectrum Town Center in Gaithersburg. Remaining Montgomery County locations include Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Olney, and Potomac, where the company’s headquarters are currently based. California Tortilla marked its 30th anniversary in June.
The Montgomery County-based chain was founded on August 4, 1995, by business partners Pam Felix and Alan Cohen, who opened their first restaurant in Bethesda. Both had previously been involved with the DC Improv comedy club before identifying an opportunity to bring fresh, West Coast-inspired Mexican food to the area. The menu featured freshly prepared ingredients, including homemade salsas, guacamole, queso, and signature sauces, all made daily without the use of freezers.
From the start, California Tortilla distinguished itself by preparing its food from scratch, which helped build a loyal following and set a quality standard in the region’s fast-casual dining scene. The company began franchising in 2003, expanding beyond Montgomery County to locations across the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic. A signature feature of each restaurant is the “Wall of Flame,” displaying more than 75 varieties of hot sauces in a wide range of spice levels.
Cohen retired in 2014, and Felix later sold her stake in the original restaurant to the corporation that acquired the company in 2003. Leadership under Keith Goldman, Bob Phillips, and others has continued to focus on freshly prepared ingredients and a distinctive dining experience.
