Taco Cabana
The original Mexican patio cafe
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurant, Food |
| Genre | Fast Casual |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Founder | Felix Stehling |
| Headquarters | San Antonio, Texas, United States |
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Number of locations
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166 company-owned restaurants |
| Parent | Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc |
| Website | tacocabana.com |
Taco Cabana is an American fast casual restaurant chain specializing in Mexican cuisine. A wholly owned subsidiary of Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc, it is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. As of September 2014 Taco Cabana had 166 locations throughout Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.
Most Taco Cabana restaurants have a drive-thru and many are open 24 hours a day. For most of the chain's history all locations were painted in the company's signature pink. Taco Cabana is known for its interior, semi-enclosed and patio dining areas. Most menu items are handmade daily on site in open display cooking areas including fajitas on an open-flame grill and tortillas made in-house.
Taco Cabana was founded by Felix Stehling in September 1978 with its first restaurant at the corner of San Pedro and Hildebrand Avenue in Midtown San Antonio. Stehling purchased a vacant Dairy Queen because the family needed additional parking space for their popular bar across the street, the Crystal Pistol. Stehling decided to open a taco stand. The open-air design of the existing structure led to the "patio cafe" concept that defined the chain's subsequent locations. Felix Stehling's wife, Billie Jo Stehling, created the décor and interior theme for the restaurant chain. After finding all of the patio furniture stolen following the first night of business, Stehling decided to keep the place open 24 hours and the around-the-clock service concept began.
The restaurant focused on fresh foods, rather than pre-packaged or pre-prepared foods. The restaurant served beer and margaritas inside while offering the convenience of a drive-thru for takeout orders. With a rapidly growing concept, Stehling needed help running his new chain. Stehling decided to keep the business in the family and asked his two brothers to help expand the chain throughout San Antonio. The brothers expanded the chain in the early stages of their partnership. In 1986 the brothers left the company in Felix's hands after differences in vision for the restaurant concept's future.
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Wikipedia