San Jose restaurant known for 5-pound ‘Burritozilla’ to close after 32 years

(KRON) — A San Jose restaurant famous for its massive five-pound burritos is closing up shop after 32 years. Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla is having its final day of service on Sunday, July 27, the business announced in a social media post. The downtown San Jose shop closing is the one on 300 S 3rd St.

“The Orozco family, as many of you know, is one of the most genuine and inspiring families in San Jose, if not the world. They’ve always put others first, and when you’re with them, you’re family,” Iguanas wrote in an Instagram post last week. “When you eat their food, you’re part of that family. It’s tough to say goodbye to the business, but we’re so happy for them as they move into the next chapter of their lives. This may be the end of an era, but Iguanas lives on forever. Stop by their downtown location now through July 27th for one last bite. With love and respect.”

The upcoming closure of Iguanas’ downtown restaurant comes shortly after two other nearby locations closed earlier this year. According to their social media, Iguanas closed their East San Jose and Santa Clara locations this past spring.

Despite these two back-to-back South Bay closures this year, Iguanas did expand outside of California for its first Texas location. Iguanas now has a restaurant open in San Antonio, which reportedly debuted in January.

The Santa Clara Iguanas, which was located near Great America and Levi’s Stadium, relinquished ownership by selling it to different owners in April. The East San Jose location closed for good on March 30. The latter closed after 16 years on San Felipe Road. 

After Iguanas sold its Santa Clara space, the new owners reopened with the same name, according to the original restaurant’s Instagram. Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla accused this restaurant group of explicitly copying their business, calling it a “blatant knockoff.” It caused some confusion among fans of the original Iguanas.

“This ain’t us!” Iguanas Home Of The Burritozilla posted on Instagram to their 25,000 followers. “We sold our Santa Clara store location. Not our brand — not our food.”

The five-pound, 18-inch “Burritozilla” is priced at $49.

Burritozillas have been seen by millions of people worldwide. The burrito has been featured on the TV show “Man v. Food,” which featured Bay Area native and competitive eating legend Joey Chestnut downing the massive burrito in two minutes.

Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, started serving Iguanas Burritozillas in 2019 — although it is not currently listed in the football stadium’s concessions page.