Taco Management LLC, doing business as Taco Bueno, is a U.S.-based,

quick service restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typicall ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. ...

specializing in

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 ...

-style cuisine. The company is headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. Its first location opened in Abilene, Texas in 1967. The food chain has locations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

History

Taco Bueno was founded in 1967 by Bill R. Waugh, an art graduate from

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a private Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Southwestern United States and has one of th ...

. The first store was located in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan st ...

. In 1981, British food manufacturer Unigate paid $32.5 million to acquire Taco Bueno. In 1996, Taco Bueno was sold to Carl's Jr.'s franchisor

CKE Restaurants CKE Restaurants Holdings (an acronym from Carl Karcher Enterprises) is an American fast food corporation and is the parent organization for the Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Green Burrito, and Red Burrito brands. CKE Restaurants is a subsidiary of the pri ...

. In 2001, the private investment group Jacobson Partners purchased the chain for $72.5 million to help aid CKE Restaurants in a debt battle. On August 10, 2005, Palladium Equity Partners announced the purchase of Taco Bueno from Jacobson Partners. At the same time, John Miller was appointed CEO of Taco Bueno. In 2011, Ed Lambert became CEO of Taco Bueno, LP., followed by Mike Roper in 2015. In fall 2015, Taco Bueno announced its first delivery expansion collaboration with

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

Tapingo. In early December 2015, Taco Bueno was purchased by TPG Growth, a division of the Fort Worth private-equity firm

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

. On April 28, 2017, season eight, episode seven of the CBS show ''

Undercover Boss ''Undercover Boss'' is a reality television series franchise created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working u ...

'', debuted with the CEO of Taco Bueno going into the field to several Taco Bueno locations. As of April 2018, Mike Roper who had left in late 2017, was replaced as CEO by Omar Janjua, who subsequently filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

on November 6, 2018, for reorganization and continued operation, and also agreed to be acquired by Dallas-based Sun Holdings, which already owned or controlled over 800 various other fast food franchise locations, for an undisclosed amount. An affiliate of Sun Holdings, Taco Supremo, assumed Taco Bueno's outstanding debt and supplied $10 million in working capital to reorganize and revitalize the business. On January 15, 2019, Taco Bueno emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In mid-June 2020, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the chain opened its first

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

-area location in Katy.

References in popular culture

* Taco Bueno has been referenced several times on the television show ''

King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...

''. In the episode, "Kidney Boy and Hamster Girl: A Love Story," Bobby discovers a Taco Bueno in the cafeteria of the high school where he is pretending to be a student. * Founder Bill Waugh also founded

Casa Bonita Casa Bonita (Spanish for "pretty house") is a Mexican restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado, at the JCRS ( Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society) Shopping Center, now known as the Lamar Station Plaza. It was originally part of a chain of Mexican-themed ...

, a chain with one location remaining in Lakewood, Colorado. It was featured on an episode of ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

''. See Casa Bonita (South Park episode)

References

External links

Official website
{{Fast-food chains of the United States Companies based in Irving, Texas Economy of the Southwestern United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food Mexican restaurants Restaurants established in 1967 1967 establishments in Texas TPG Capital companies 1981 mergers and acquisitions 1996 mergers and acquisitions 2001 mergers and acquisitions 2005 mergers and acquisitions 2015 mergers and acquisitions Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 2019 mergers and acquisitions

History

References in popular culture

See also

References

External links