Del Taco
 Logo of Del Taco logo used since August 2011
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: TACO |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | September 16, 1964, Yermo, California |
| Founder | Ed Hackbarth and Evan Williams |
| Headquarters | Lake Forest, California, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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547 (As of March 23, 2014) |
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Key people
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Paul Murphy (CEO) |
| Website | deltaco.com |
Del Taco is an American quick service restaurant chain which specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine as well as American foods such as burgers, fries, and shakes. Del Taco is led by Chairman and CEO Paul Murphy, and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California.
The first Del Taco restaurant opened in Yermo, California on September 16, 1964 by Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson. On the first official day of business, Del Taco made $169. Success of the first restaurant led to two in Barstow, one in Needles, and a fifth restaurant in Corona (the first Del Taco with a drive-thru window). Dick Naugle, who installed the kitchen equipment in the Corona store, was impressed by the design and joined Hackbarth and Jameson in the fledgling business. In 1966, the trio founded Red-E-Food Systems, Inc. with the idea of franchising the Del Taco brand. That same year, the original Del Taco sun logo was created and in 1967, Del Taco introduced their famous bean and cheese burrito with green or red sauce to their menu. Before long, the restaurants were being founded throughout Southern California.
Naugle left the company early in the decade to start his own Mexican fast food chain, Naugles. In 1973, the company dropped “Casa” from its name and Red-E-Food Systems became Del Taco, Inc. By that time, the company was enjoying a remarkable growth spurt; during one period, they were opening a new restaurant every month. However, in 1976, Hackbarth and Jameson sold Del Taco to a group of investors. The new owners sold the exclusive rights to use and develop the Del Taco name throughout the United States (excluding California; Eugene, Oregon; and Yuma, Arizona) to W. R. Grace and Company. Grace, primarily a chemicals company, founded a new company, Del Taco Restaurants Inc. of Dallas, Texas, and a new subsidiary, DTG Inc., to oversee the various fast food chains it was acquiring. Nonetheless, the franchise continued to expand. In 1977, there were 50 Del Taco restaurants. A year later in 1978, there were 100.
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