Taco pizza is a pizza that uses

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filling ...

ingredients. The owner of pizza chain

Happy Joe's Happy Joe's is an American pizza parlor chain based in Bettendorf, Iowa. The restaurant chain was founded in 1972 by Lawrence Joseph "Happy Joe" Whitty, a former Shakey's Pizza manager. Their United States locations are spread out across the Uppe ...

claimed to have invented taco pizza. The pizza has been served by other locations.

Potential origin and patents

The pizza parlor chain

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, claimed to have invented taco pizza. After refusing to allow a franchisee to add tacos to their menu, Happy Joe's owner Joe Whitty decided to make something better than tacos. Whitty claimed that the taco pizza was created in December 1974 when he topped his pizza with taco chips, lettuce, and tomatoes. Whitty's daughter, Kristel Whitty-Ersan, said, "At the time, no one was making specialty pizzas." In 1979, restaurant chain

Pizza Inn Pizza Inn is a Dallas-based restaurant chain and international food franchise, specializing in American-style pan pizza, pasta, and side dishes. The company is based in the Dallas suburb of The Colony, Texas. At its peak, Pizza Inn had over 500 ...

wanted to

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

the name taco pizza, but competitor

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

disagreed by saying that the creation is not special and not worth rights to its name. Previously, Pizza Inn had trademarks for the name in eight states and then tried to receive a national trademark. Pizza Hut came up with their version of taco pizza while using the name in their menus and advertisements. Pizza Inn sent a letter to Pizza Hut claiming that they have exclusive rights to the name and Pizza Hut responded that taco pizza is only a description. Happy Joe's partnered with Pizza Hut in court and agreed that taco pizza is only a generic name of the food.

Other locations

Gas station chain

Casey's Casey's Retail Company (doing business as Casey's) is a chain of convenience stores in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The company is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines. As of April 30, 2019, Casey's had 2,146 stor ...

is known for their taco pizza. Author

Chuy Renteria Chuy () is a city in the extreme east of Uruguay, in the Rocha Department, northeast of Montevideo. It lies on the border with Brazil, separated from its Brazilian sister town of Chuí only by a shared avenue that serves as the border, and by th ...

said, "Taco pizza, the second thing that makes Casey's stand out, is a little harder for outside folks to wrap their heads around. Casey's taco pizza consists of ground beef, lettuce, and tomato on a crust lined with a bean dip spread." Taco pizza has also been served at the pizza chain

Godfather's Pizza Godfather's Pizza is an American privately owned restaurant chain headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, that operates fast casual Italian franchises and Pizza Express locations. History Godfather's Pizza was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1973. Wil ...

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

sells a version named Mexican Pizza. In 1995,

The Pillsbury Company The Pillsbury Company is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company that was one of the world's largest producers of grain and other foodstuffs until it was bought by General Mills in 2001. General Mills brands consist of Annie's, Betty Crocker, Nat ...

created a taco pizza recipe using

Totino's Totino's and Jeno's are brands of frozen pizza products owned by General Mills. History Rose Totino and her husband, Jim, founded a take-out pizzeria in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1951. They later expanded it to a full-service restaurant, whic ...

frozen pizzas. A 2020 study by Zippia of each state's favorite pizza concluded that taco pizza is the favorite pizza of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

References

{{reflist Pizza varieties Pizza in the United States Taco Food and drink in Iowa

Potential origin and patents

Other locations

See also

References