История Del Taco: от основания до поглощения Jack in the Box

American fast food restaurant chain

The first Del Taco restaurant was opened by Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson in Yermo, California, east of Barstow, on September 16, 1964, That same year, the original Del Taco sun logo was created. In 1967, Del Taco introduced their bean and cheese burrito with green or red sauce. Del Taco launched a $14 million program to redesign its restaurant exteriors, kitchens and corporate logo. The company presented its Concept 2000 restaurant design, and in August 1992 introduced its new logo. In place of the orange and blue sunset, there was a yellow sun that rose over green mountains against a red background. These colors represented the primary ingredients of Del Taco food: cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Later that year, executives announced plans to expand the chain to 500 stores by 1995, and to add another 225 by 2000. The first new markets it sought were Las Vegas, Nevada; St. Louis, Missouri; and the Northeast Corridor. On April 27, 2009, a new Del Taco opened in Oviedo, Florida, marking the first time since the 1980s that Del Taco was available in the Orlando area. This location has since closed. There are two other Orlando locations still open.

Del Taco returned to Texas with a new location in Denton, Texas. W. R. Grace and Company had previously owned and operated locations in Texas with a licensing agreement in 1978, but sold the restaurants to Taco Bell in 1992. Guillermo Perales, one of the largest Hispanic restaurateurs in the nation, signed a franchisee agreement in 2011 to open additional locations in the Dallas Fort Worth area of Texas. In 2011, Del Taco opened four locations in Colorado in Denver and Colorado Springs; it grew to 21 stores across the state. In March 2012, a location opened in Houston with plans for further expansion in the Houston area (that location was defunct by May 2015), including both Harris County and Montgomery County. In December 2012, a Del Taco opened in Cedar Park, Texas. Another was opened in Round Rock, Texas, in 2013. Del Taco entered Oklahoma in December 2013, opening its first store in Moore. Also in 2013, Del Taco entered the River Region, adding a restaurant in Montgomery, Alabama, which closed in 2016. In summer 2014, a store opened in Edmond, Oklahoma. Del Taco was purchased by Levy Acquisition Corporation and became a public company on June 30, 2015.

In October 2020, Del Taco announced an expansion into the Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, markets. Del Taco also opened a location in Guam. In September 2021, Del Taco announced it will expand into Virginia starting with the Hampton Roads area, and its first store expected to open in Virginia Beach. In the same month, Del Taco released their new rewards program app, called "Del Yeah! Rewards". On December 6, 2021, Jack in the Box announced it was acquiring Del Taco, saying the merger will cause both companies to benefit "from a stronger financial model, gaining greater scale to invest in digital and technology capabilities, and unit growth for both brands". The combined company will have more than 2,800 locations across 25 states. The acquisition closed in March 2022 for about $585 million.

The chain operates in 15 US states, 1 US Territory (Guam), and had 594 locations as of May 1, 2023. The majority of their restaurants are in California. Del Taco also operates in several other states, including Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Washington. The company has a handful of locations east of the Mississippi. Las Vegas, Nevada, has the most Del Tacos of any single city, and California has the most Del Tacos of any state. Since this introduction, Del Taco has created multiple other vegetarian and vegan menu items using Beyond Meat's plant based crumbles including the Beyond Avocado Taco, the Epic Beyond Cali Burrito, and the Beyond 8 Layer Burrito. On January 29, 2020, Del Taco launched a new dollar menu, with items costing a dollar or less before tax.

The first mascot of Del Taco was a character of the same name used from 1999 through 2000. Del Taco was sued by Zorro Productions, Inc., and Tristar Pictures, Inc., who claimed that the "Del Taco" character – masked and costumed in black – infringed on their rights to the trademark Zorro figure. Del Taco settled the suit in January 2000, agreeing to make changes to the Del Taco character, and soon discontinued the ad campaign. From August 2007 through July 2008, Del Taco featured "The Beast" in their commercials. "The Beast", a personification of hunger, typically stood next to a customer and persuaded him to order a particular item (or items) so that they could "Feed the Beast" (Del Taco's slogan). "The Beast" made his debut in August 2007 promoting Del Taco's improved Chicken Soft Taco. He also endorsed the Crispy Fish Taco in February 2008, the improved Chicken Quesadilla in April 2008, and Del's Deal in June 2008. Del Taco has used a variety of commercials to promote the slogan, "Go Bold or Go Home". The first commercial featured a team of miniature "Mole Men" to promote the Spicy Chicken Mole Soft Taco, which aired in August 2008. Ads included Del Taco's promotion of their improved regular taco in September 2008, the Classic Combo Deal in November 2008, three separate meal deals for under three dollars in January 2009, the crispy shrimp taco in February 2009, the chicken soft taco in April 2009, and the chicken fajita burrito in June 2009. On June 27, 2018, Del Taco launched a campaign celebrating employees' successes while working at their restaurants using the new slogan, "Celebrating the hardest working hands in fast food," although the slogan, "That's unfreshing believable", is still used to promote their fresh food.

On the Netflix show Grace and Frankie, Frankie, played by Lily Tomlin, regularly mentions her love of Del Taco throughout the series. Scenes include her revealing that she and her husband once bought a franchise and Frankie taking Grace for her first Del Taco visit. A popular Vine by Gasoleen TV features her reading a Del Taco sign that has incorrect spacing. The sign says: "FR E SH A VOCA DO" Del Taco has gone on to use this phrase on a Twitter marketing campaign. A popular YouTube channel, thecreaturehub, featured the Barstow location (the "oldest operating location") on both their Road to E3 series from 2014 2015, in which the restaurant was one of the group's stops on the trips.

In 2018, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit against Del Taco, stating that the shift leader and general manager of stores near Rancho Cucamonga, California, harassed female employees through vulgar comments, physical conduct, and propositions of sex. The EEOC stated that the harassment occurred almost daily, and those who spoke up were retaliated against by having their work hours shortened or schedules changed. In December 2020, Del Taco settled the lawsuit by agreeing to pay $12.5 million and enter a three year consent decree. The decree required Del Taco to train employees on anti discrimination laws with an emphasis on sexual harassment, retain an employment monitor, and make it easier for employees to report harassment and discrimination. In 2017, Del Taco was accused of violating state wage and hour laws, with the case including people who worked for the company between 2012 and 2021. In June 2022, Del Taco agreed to settle a class action lawsuit in California for $50 million.