Taco Bueno
| Company type | Mexican Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Industry | Quick Service Restaurants |
| Founded | Abilene, Texas (1967) |
| Headquarters | Farmers Branch, Texas |
Key people | John Miller (CEO), Bill Waugh (Founder) |
| Products | Tacos, burritos, and other Mexican-related fast food |
| Revenue |  $1.8 billion USD (2005) |
Number of employees | 121,000 |
| Website | tacobueno.com |
Taco Bueno is a U.S.-based fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in Tex-Mex-style Mexican cuisine. Currently headquartered in Farmers Branch, Texas, the first location was in Abilene, Texas in 1967. The company has locations in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North and South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas, with concentrations in North Texas and Oklahoma. The chain currently includes 169 restaurants, including recent additions in Kansas City, Missouri; Monroe, North Carolina; Rock Hill, South Carolina; and Conroe, Texas. Contracts for 2008 include more stores in Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. However, the Monroe store has closed.
In 1981 Taco Bueno was acquired by British food manufacturer Unigate, then was sold to Carl's Jr.'s franchisor CKE Restaurants in 1996. The private investment group Jacobson Partners purchased the chain in 2001, and in 2005 Palladium Equity Partners procured the company.
The chain differentiates itself from competitors such as Taco Bell by promoting the fresh ingredients used in many of their menu items. This is emphasized by television and radio ad campaigns that focus on employees of an unnamed Mexican fast-food chain spying on Taco Bueno to determine why Bueno's food tastes superior.
New additions
In the South, steak products, as well as a new menu is being test-marketed before introducing it in other areas. Cilantro lime rice, peppered chicken, whole pinto beans, and Mexican Pizza will also be included. Also, the cinnamon apple muchaco will be released as a seasonal item.
Signature Taco Bueno Menu Items
Big Ol' Burrito
As the name implies, it is the largest burrito offered by Taco Bueno and is available in beef and chicken varieties. The Beef BOB contains beef, chili sauce, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream; the Chicken BOB has chicken, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream.
Mexidips & Chips
The Mexidips & Chips is a bed of tortilla chips with two fried corn tortilla bowls. The two bowls are filled differently depending on if the item is for take-out or dine-in orders. In the case that it is made for dine-in, one bowl contains queso, one holds refried pinto beans, and a scoop of fresh guacamole is served atop a small patch of lettuce. If the order is for take-out, then the guacamole is put in one of the tortilla bowls and the cheese is put in a separate plastic container with a lid to prevent spillage.
Muchaco
The Muchaco is a layer of refried beans, ground beef or grilled chicken, lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, and folded over in soft pita bread.
Potato Burrito
Taco Bueno's Potato Burrito consists of the customer's choice of ground beef or grilled chicken, hash brown potatoes, queso, shredded lettuce, and sour cream wrapped in a soft flour tortilla. As with most of the chain's menu items, refried beans may be substituted for meat at no additional charge.
Mucho Nachos
Mucho Nachos is a bed of corn tortilla chips topped with refried beans, ground beef or grilled chicken, chili sauce, queso with peppers, diced tomatoes, and sour cream. As of December 2007, the company decided to remove the 1/2 oz. of shredded cheese due to the fact that the 4 oz. of queso made virtually no difference in taste.
Cheesecake Chimichanga
A Cheesecake Chimichanga is a warm cheesecake filling wrapped in a fried shell and dusted with powdered sugar.
Chimichanga
Not to be confused with the cheesecake chimichanga, the regular chimichanga features chicken, rice, black beans, pepperjack cheese, and chunky salsa. It is wrapped in a 10" tortilla, fried, then topped with sour cream sauce, queso, and chipotle sauce.
Salsa Bar
All Taco Bueno locations have a self serve salsa and condiment bar featuring homemade fresh red and chunky salsas, fresh pico de gallo, diced onions, jalapeño peppers, lemon slices, and depending on the location other various items such as cilantro.
Breakfast Menu
In 2007, Taco Bueno introduced a line of breakfast items, including egg-based burritos and breakfast platters, at the majority of their locations.
Vegetarian Menu Options
Vegetarian options include tortillas, chips, guacamole salad (which has three scoops of guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, and chips), cheese quesadillas, the soup without the chicken, and every salsa bar item. The sour cream and guacamole also have no meats. Guacamole contains jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, onions, sea salt, and avacados as of 2008. No sour cream is in the guacamole.
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's pretending to be a student.
- Founder Bill Waugh also founded Casa Bonita, a chain with one remaining location in Lakewood, Colorado. The restaurant was featured on an episode of South Park. See Casa Bonita (South Park episode)
- Taco Bueno is parodied in Kim Possible, which is called Bueno Nacho.