La Reina, an East Los Angeles tortilla maker that has spent decades producing for private labels, is putting its own brand back on shelves. In late October it will release rolled tortilla chips in chile lime and elote flavors, The Eastsider reported Oct. 7, 2026. Chief growth officer Mauro Gomez, the founder's grandson, told the outlet the flavors were inspired by community and street-vendor ingredients. The gluten-free chips will be the first products under the La Reina name in decades, and more are planned.
Founder Mauro Robles, who came to the U.S. through the Bracero Program, opened the business in East L.A. in 1958 and moved to its current Ford Boulevard site three years later, according to the company. In 1978 La Reina acquired San Bernardino-based Anita's Mexican Foods, adding tortilla chips and taco shells, and it now employs about 300 people across the two locations. Gomez said the La Reina brand faded as other tortilla brands entered the market in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The factory stayed open making private-label tortillas.
The launch is starting small: online sales through La Reina, farmers' markets, and East L.A. retailers, in packaging that brings back the brand's original blue-and-white checkerboard border and crown. Gomez said the company also plans to work with local small businesses, schools and nonprofits. For trade readers, it's an example of a private-label tortilla producer adding branded snack sales on top of contract work. Read The Eastsider for the full profile.
La Reina Anita's Mexican Foods