{"id":86057,"date":"2025-06-10T11:43:43","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=86057"},"modified":"2025-06-10T11:47:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:47:51","slug":"chinitos-tacos-reopening-closed-lakewood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/food\/chinitos-tacos-reopening-closed-lakewood","title":{"rendered":"After closing in March, Chinitos Tacos reopens, with a shorter name and revamped menu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A well-liked Lakewood restaurant is back after a brief closure sparked by increasing costs and competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinitos Tacos had a seven-year run before closing. Now, just a few months later, it\u2019s reopening as simply Chinitos with a renewed menu of dinner plates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owner, Beeline Krouch, tried to sell the business and closed it at the end of March, but he said, when the new owner didn\u2019t pay their bills on time, the deal fell through. Krouch still had his name on the lease and was forced to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought I was out, but it called me back,\u201d Krouch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Beeline Krouch, owner and chef, at his restaurant Chinitos in Lakewood, Friday, June 6, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was an unexpected return to Krouch\u2019s long-running dream of having a restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That journey originally started with a nickname that became an identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am Chinitos,\u201d Krouch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krouch started out working as a line cook for 20 years. His coworkers in the kitchen called him \u201cchino\u201d and then \u201cchinito.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just ran with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

When Krouch had the opportunity to open a restaurant, he wanted to create a place that served foods with Asian-inspired flavors while showing appreciation for the Hispanic culture that is so prevalent in Long Beach, thus opening Chinitos Tacos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have to admit it was the toughest decision, but the greatest feeling at the same time, because it was something that I always dreamed of, but throughout the years, I felt how tough it was just to be an entrepreneur,\u201d Krouch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
A feast at Chinitos in Lakewood, Friday, June 6, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The business faced its share of challenges, including a struggle to establish itself at first as people weren\u2019t sure about the idea of \u201cAsian-inspired tacos,\u201d Krouch said. There were also several break-ins and the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krouch said the hardest hits came from increasing prices and the large amount of competition, particularly from street vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have a brick and mortar, I have rent, I have overhead, and I can’t keep up with them,\u201d Krouch said. \u201cYou’re paying $1.50 for a great taco that they’re selling, which is delicious and is packed with protein,\u201d without the same costs as a restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A single taco at Chinitos Tacos \u2014 which included a choice of protein, Chinitos sauce, cotija cheese, pickled red onions and cilantro \u2014 was $4.50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was tough because you couldn’t really break it down to the customers. They wouldn’t understand. I mean, they see gas prices going up and when they go grocery shopping, but they never really think that tacos, a taco, will be this expensive,\u201d Krouch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Unko’s Shrimp Plate at Chinitos in Lakewood, Friday, June 6, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After the brief closure<\/a>, Krouch reopened his restaurant as Chinitos on May 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of the tacos that used to fill the menu, Chintos now offers dinner plates with chicken, pork belly, or short ribs. They also have combo plates that have multiple meats and a creamy garlic shrimp pasta called Bang Bang Cajun Shrimp Noodles. All plates are served with a scoop of rice and macaroni salad, which could be substituted with salad or noodles. Prices range from $16 to $25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krouch continues to use flavors that he said he holds close to his heart, including lemongrass, turmeric and ginger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bang Bang Cajun Shrimp Noodles at Chinitos in Lakewood, Friday, June 6, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Krouch views the reopening of Chinitos as a rebirth and an opportunity to try new things, saying that everything happens for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinitos will have its grand re-opening sometime in the fall, \u201cbut as of right now, I just want to take it week by week and just pray that we just keep on winning,\u201d Krouch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinitos, at 11130 Del Amo Blvd. in Lakewood, is open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Flavors like lemongrass, turmeric and ginger that helped define the shop\u2019s tacos are still at the heart of many of their new dinner plate offerings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":86052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32346],"class_list":["post-86057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86057"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86061,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86057\/revisions\/86061"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86057"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=86057"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=86057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}