Taco Bueno

{{Infobox company

| name = Taco Management LLC

| trade_name = Taco Bueno

| genre = Quick service

| logo = Taco Bueno logo.svg

| logo_size = 180px

| type = Subsidiary

| foundation = {{start date and age|1967}} in Abilene, Texas

| location = Farmers Branch, Texas

| locations = 133 (2023)

| area_served = Southern United States

| key_people = Omar Janjuea (CEO)
Robert Sanders, VP of Taco Bueno, Sun Holdings

| founder = Bill Waugh

| owner = Sun Holdings

| num_employees = 3,856 (2021)

| industry = Restaurant

| products = Tacos, burritos, and other Mexican-related fast food

| revenue = {{profit}}$187 million

| homepage = [http://www.tacobueno.com tacobueno.com]

}}

Taco Management LLC, doing business as Taco Bueno, is a U.S.-based, quick-service restaurant chain specializing in Tex-Mex-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. {{cite web|url=https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/guillermo-perales-takes-taco-bueno |last=Maze |first=Jonathan |date=September 3, 2019 |title=Guillermo Perales Takes On Taco Bueno |work=Restaurant Business |access-date=July 7, 2020}}

History

Taco Bueno was founded in 1967 by Bill R. Waugh, an art graduate from Abilene Christian University. The first store was located in Abilene, Texas.{{cite web|url=https://www.qsrmagazine.com/finance/taco-bueno-sold-sun-holdings|last=Klein|first=Danny|date=Jan 2019|title=Taco Bueno Sold to Sun Holdings|work=QSR Magazine|access-date=Apr 6, 2019}}

In 1981, British food manufacturer Unigate paid $32.5 million to acquire Taco Bueno.{{cite web|url=https://oklahoman.com/article/1965661/taco-bueno-crystals-too-english-firm-buys-casa-bonita-chain |date=December 1, 1981 |title=Taco Bueno, Crystal's, Too English Firm Buys Casa Bonita Chain |work=The Oklahoman |access-date=July 7, 2020}}

In 1996, Taco Bueno was sold to Carl's Jr.'s franchisor CKE Restaurants.{{cite news|title=CKE Restaurants Agrees To Purchase Casa Bonita|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/29/business/cke-restaurants-agrees-to-purchase-casa-bonita.html?ref=ckerestaurantsinc|work=New York Times|access-date=29 May 2011|date=29 August 1996}}

In 2001, the private investment group Jacobson Partners purchased the chain for $72.5 million to help aid CKE Restaurants in a debt battle.{{cite news|title=CKE Will Sell Its Taco Bueno Unit For $72.5 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/15/business/company-news-cke-will-sell-its-taco-bueno-unit-for-72.5-million.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=29 May 2011|date=15 March 2001}}

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.{{cite web|title=Palladium Equity Partners Completes Acquisition of Taco Bueno Restaurant Chain|url=http://www.palladiumequity.com/pr_8-10-2005.asp|publisher=Palladium Equity|access-date=29 May 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907073954/http://www.palladiumequity.com/pr_8-10-2005.asp|archive-date=7 September 2012}} 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 Tapingo.{{cite web|title=Taco Bueno to offer its first delivery service|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/morning_call/2015/10/restaurant-roundup-local-restaurants-offer-menu.html|website=Dallas Business Journal|access-date=October 2, 2015}}

In early December 2015, Taco Bueno was purchased by TPG Growth, a division of the Fort Worth private-equity firm TPG Capital.{{cite web|url=http://www.tpggrowth.com/news/2015/20151202-tpg-purchases-taco-bueno.php |title=TPG |publisher=TPG Growth |access-date=2017-12-29}}

On April 28, 2017, season eight, episode seven of the CBS show Undercover Boss,{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss/video/E579C945-1D41-62A6-B6E6-B5B598279BEF/undercover-boss-taco-bueno/ |date=2017 |title=Taco Bueno |work=CBS |access-date=July 7, 2020 |url-access=subscription}} debuted with the CEO of Taco Bueno going into the field to several Taco Bueno locations.{{cite news|last1=Tramel|first1=Jimmie|title=What happened when 'Undercover Boss' went to Taco Bueno in Owasso?|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/features/what-happened-when-undercover-boss-went-to-taco-bueno-in/article_c0c2bf44-d3c5-5de4-b0e3-96f9740213f5.html|access-date=11 June 2017|publisher=Tulsa World|date=28 Apr 2017}}

As of April 2018, Mike Roper, who had left in late 2017, was replaced as CEO by Omar Janjua,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2018/03/30/taco-bueno-names-ceo-with-35-years-of-quick.html|title=Taco Bueno Names CEO with 35 Years of Quick Service Experience|website=www.bizjournals.com|date=30 March 2018|access-date=4 December 2018}} who subsequently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/business/entrepreneurs/2019/08/01/dallas-franchise-king-guillermo-perales-just-opened-his-1000th-store-and-he-s-not-done-growing-yet/ |last=DiFurio |first=Dom |date=August 1, 2019 |title=Dallas' franchise king Guillermo Perales just opened his 1,000th store — and he's not done growing yet - Franchisee becomes the franchisor |work=The Dallas Morning News |access-date=July 7, 2020}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2018/11/06/new-investor-acquires-taco-bueno-amid.html|title=new-investor-acquires-taco-bueno-amid|website=www.bizjournals.com|date=2018-11-06|access-date=2018-11-07}} On January 15, 2019, Taco Bueno emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In mid-June 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the chain opened its first Houston-area location in Katy.{{cite web|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/food/article/Houston-area-s-first-Taco-Bueno-now-open-in-Katy-15344592.php |last=Rosenthal |first=Abigail |date=June 16, 2020 |title=Houston area's first Taco Bueno now open in Katy |work=Houston Chronicle |access-date=July 7, 2020}}

References in popular culture

Taco Bueno has been referenced several times on the television show King of the Hill. 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.{{Cite web |last=AllyAlly |title=This Beloved Tex-Mex Institution Has Deep Roots in Abilene |url=https://keanradio.com/this-beloved-tex-mex-institution-has-deep-roots-in-abilene/ |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=KEAN 105 |date=September 28, 2021 |language=en}}