History Del Taco

1 history

1.1 1960s
1.2 1970s
1.3 1980s
1.4 1990s
1.5 2000s
1.6 2010s

history
1960s

del taco s headquarters (2013)

the first del taco restaurant opened ed hackbarth , david jameson in yermo, california, on september 16, 1964 . on first day of business, del taco made $169. success of first restaurant led 2 in barstow, 1 in needles, , fifth restaurant in corona (the first del taco drive-through window). dick naugle, installed kitchen equipment in corona store, impressed design , joined hackbarth , jameson in fledgling business. in 1966, trio founded red-e-food systems, inc., idea of franchising del taco brand. same year, original del taco sun logo created, and, in 1967, del taco introduced famous bean , cheese burrito green or red sauce menu. before long, restaurants being founded throughout southern california.

1970s

del taco history

naugle left company in decade start own mexican fast food chain, naugles. in 1973, company dropped “casa” name , red-e-food systems became del taco, inc. time, company enjoying remarkable growth spurt; during 1 period, opening new restaurant every month. however, in 1976, hackbarth , jameson sold del taco group of investors. new owners sold exclusive rights use , develop del taco name throughout united states (excluding california; eugene, oregon; , yuma, arizona) w. r. grace , company. grace, chemicals company, founded new company, del taco restaurants inc. of dallas, texas, , new subsidiary, dtg inc., oversee various fast food chains acquiring. nonetheless, franchise continued expand. in 1977, there 50 del taco restaurants. year later in 1978, there 100.

1980s

in 1981, del taco had 350 restaurants (still located exclusively in california).

in february 1989, del taco merged restaurants 171 naugles’ mexican fast food outlets. anwar soliman man behind move , was, ironically, mastermind behind purchase of rights expand del taco throughout united states in 1977. merger, del taco increased in size, , spread far east hickory, north carolina. 1980s brought change in operation, del taco began stay open night. in lake forest, california, chain headquartered, there 2 del tacos directly across street each other on trabuco road — 1 of these having formerly been naugles.

1990s

del taco s logo 1992 2011

in 1990, kevin k. moriarty joined del taco new ceo, becoming owner of brand in conjunction management team. team launched new efforts grow brand’s image while improving total customer experience, setting stage extreme growth.

in 1992, del taco recaptured exclusive rights name w. r. grace , company , able expand outside of california. del taco launched $14 million program redesign restaurant exteriors, kitchens, , corporate logo. company presented concept 2000 restaurant design , in august 1992 introduced new logo. in place of old orange , blue sunset, there yellow sun rose on green mountains against red background; these colors represented primary ingredients of del taco food: cheese, lettuce, , tomatoes. later year, executives announced far-reaching plans expand chain 500 stores 1995 , add 225 2000. first new markets set sights on las vegas, nevada; st. louis, missouri; , northeast corridor.

del taco filed protection in 1993 under chapter 11 in u.s. bankruptcy court. in spite of fact renovations made keep del taco profitable, company continued pay rent on several unprofitable outlets had been closed. attempted negotiate lease reductions on number of other high cost sites. make matters worse, del taco had been hit $3 million lawsuit former supplier, later settled out of court.

from 1994 through 1998, del taco saw company decrease , increase in size. though company signed deal open 15 franchise stores in northeast many more in southeast, chain near goals publicized years earlier. in 1995, del taco (hurt closing of numerous unprofitable units) had 300 stores, instead of growing 500 stores. however, chain began prosper in 1997, when total sales had reached estimated $250 million. december 1998, del taco had 325 stores in twelve states , hoped debt-free 2002.

2000s

by 2000, del taco had 372 stores located in ten u.s. states. year, important deal signed compass group plc enabled del taco stores open on american military bases. first business store @ patuxent river naval air station in st. mary s county, maryland, in 2001. other del tacos planned american bases in puerto rico , naples, italy.

in 2001, group of former del taco employees, of whom black, brought discrimination suit against chain. group claimed while working @ del taco in los angeles area, had suffered verbal abuse, had been passed on promotions in favor of hispanic workers, , being fired , replaced illegal immigrants. case had not been settled.

in effort improve reputation, del taco launched sports-sponsorship program teams in 8 u.s. states, including mighty ducks of anaheim , arizona coyotes hockey teams, basketball’s los angeles clippers , utah jazz, university of nevada, las vegas’s football , basketball teams, , several minor league hockey , baseball teams. deal placed del taco logo on signs, drink cups, , special promotional items @ stadiums of partner teams. paid off as, in 2003, del taco announced restaurants had topped $1 million per store in average annual sales, remarkable considering other american stores, notably mcdonald’s , carl’s jr., featured decrease in annual sales.

in 2004, private nashville, tennessee based holding named sagittarius brands, llc, parent company of captain d s seafood, purchased del taco.

in january 2008, del taco announced opening of 500th restaurant in burbank, california. on april 27, 2009, new del taco opened in oviedo, florida, marking first time since 1980s del taco available in orlando area, location has since been closed. there 2 other orlando locations still open.

2010s

the del taco in denton, texas, opened in 2010

del taco returned texas new location in denton, texas, north of dallas. w. r. grace , company had owned , operated locations in texas licensing agreement in 1978, sold restaurants taco bell in 1992.

guillermo perales, 1 of largest hispanic restaurateurs in nation, signed franchisee agreement in 2011 open additional locations in dallas-fort worth area of texas.

in march 2012, location opened in houston plans further expansion in greater houston area (but location went out of business may 2015), including both harris county , montgomery county.

in december 2012, new del taco location opened in cedar park, texas. in 2013, new location opened in round rock, texas.

in december 2013, del taco made entrance oklahoma, opening first store in moore, ok, suburb of oklahoma city. in summer of 2014 opened second store in edmond, ok, suburb of oklahoma city.

del taco purchased levy acquisition corporation , became public company on june 30, 2015.