Taco Tuesday is a custom in many

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

cities of going out to eat

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 fillin ...

s or in some cases select

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

dishes, typically served in a

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...

, on Tuesday nights. Restaurants will often offer special prices, for example, "$2 fish tacos every Tuesday night". It is popular in many big cities across the nation, and especially popular in the beach cities of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. Taco Tuesday is similar to Happy Hour in that restaurants vary in their participation, hours, and specials offered. Taco Tuesday is celebrated in other countries in the

English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...

, such as in Canada, the UK and Australia.The Crazy Contentious History of Taco Tuesday
Thrillist Similar customs are observed outside of the US. In Norway, the terms Fredagstaco and Tacofredag are used to refer to eating tacos on Friday night. In Sweden, serving tacos on Fridays is common for Fredagsmys.

Origin

The first known use of the term "Taco Tuesday" was in 1973 as an advertisement in the ''

Rapid City Journal The ''Rapid City Journal'' (formerly the ''Black Hills Journal'' and the ''Rapid City Daily Journal'') is the daily newspaper of Rapid City, South Dakota. As of 2021, it is the largest newspaper in South Dakota by total subscriptions, according ...

'' for a local business. Businesses advertising tacos on Tuesdays have been around since at least 1933.

Trademarks

United States

Gregory's Restaurant & Bar of Somers Point began a Taco Tuesday promotion on February 6, 1979, and trademarked the term in 1982. Individual franchises of Wyoming-based fast food restaurant

Taco John's Taco John's International, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant founded in 1969 by John Turner. The chain serves Mexican-inspired fast food (which it calls "West-Mex") as well as the company's signature dish, Potato Olés, which are bite- ...

first started using the term in late 1979 and the early 1980s, with an Indiana franchise being the first. Taco John's was granted a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

for "Taco Tuesday" in 1989, and defended against other restaurants using that phrase. Taco John's trademark extended throughout the United States except New Jersey, where Gregory's kept their trademark. Tortilla Flats owned a trademark for "Tack Tuesday" in California in 1984 and used it in a lawsuit in 1997. In 2019, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

began sharing social media posts on Instagram about his family's weekly taco dinners dubbed "Taco Tuesdays". Through shell company LBJ Trademarks LLC, he filed a trademark on the term "Taco Tuesday" for use in downloadable audio/visual works, podcasts, social media, online marketing, and entertainment services. The request was denied by the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

(USPTO), stating that Taco Tuesday was "a commonplace term, message or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment." In practice, Taco John's was unable to stop widespread use of the term regardless. Many taco fans disagree with the idea that any one entity can "own" the term "Taco Tuesdays". In May 2023,

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, includin ...

petitioned the USPTO, asking that the trademark be cancelled and arguing that the phrase "should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos". The chain also said that "nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase". On July 18, 2023, Taco John's CEO, Jim Creel, announced that they would abandon the "Taco Tuesday" trademark, leaving New Jersey as the last state where the phrase remained trademarked. On October 24, 2023, it was announced that Gregory’s Restaurant and Bar, owner of the trademark in New Jersey, also relinquished the trademark, ending the term's trademarked status for the entire United States.

Outside the US

In Australia,

Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill is an Australian chain of fast-food restaurants. Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill serve a variety of Tex-Mex foods including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "value menu" items. Th ...

owns the trademark to the term since 2011. In Canada,

MTY Food Group MTY Food Group is a Canadian franchisor and operator of numerous casual dining, fast casual, and quick service restaurants operating under more than 70 brand names, some of them through wholly owned subsidiaries. Headquartered in the Montreal bor ...

's TacoTime owns the trademark for term since 1997.Taco Tuesday trademark tussle hits Calgary cantina

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

References

{{Reflist Sales promotion Restaurant terminology Taco Tuesday observances Trademarks