tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- Taco Time
Owner -- Kahala, Corp
Primary Operating Region -- Western US and Canada, Kuwait
Number of Locations -- 188 US, 110 Canada, 1 Japan (Kahala), 73 Western Washington (Taco Time NW/Accord) (2006)

I was worried about Taco Time when new owners Kahala Corp just did the unthinkable...They took the Northwest out of the chain.  Taco Time's corporate office, based in Eugene, OR since the company's inception, was moved to Phoenix.  There wasn't a single Taco Time in all of Arizona.  But things seem okay thus far.  A number of new stores have opened, even some in new markets.

Ron Fraedrick started Taco Time in Eugene, OR in 1960 after falling in love with Mexican food in California.  Everything was made fresh at the two window walk-up.  Seasonings were mixed in a large barrel by rolling it around the parking lot.  They've since replaced the barrel with real mixers, but the "made fresh" part is largely still intact.

Success came quickly with three locations within the year.  The first franchisee, Frank Tonkin, opened his first location in 1962 and followed up with many more.  In 1979, Tonkin began operating independent of Taco Time International with an agreement that allows Taco Time NW to use the trademarks in Western Washington.  Tonkin's Accord, Inc operates 73 locations independently and are, short of name and some of the traditional menu items, a completely separate animal from Taco Time International.

The Fraedrick family sold Taco Time International in 2003 to Kahala Corp, an Arizona-based franchise and marketing group that operates a number of concepts like Frullati Cafe, Surf City Squeeze, and others I've never heard of before.  What will become of my favorite taco in all of fast food?  I suppose if nothing else, I could always move to Tonkin's territory.

At Taco Time, everything tastes as fresh as it is.  From the shells to the beef, the food is prepared fresh on site.  There are several chains who make this claim, but none of them provide as fresh a taste.  Taco Time has re-emphasized freshness in its latest marketing and in a colorful overhaul of its restaurants and signage.  The changes have been favorable to business.  I have a few changes in mind I'd implement if the chain were mine (an "upscaling" of some menu items and a food assembly line in front of the customers similar to the five dollar burrito joints) but things seem to be moving along fine as it is.

My local Taco Time, which is always much busier than the local Taco Bell, is one of the best in the chain and gets more of my dollars than any restaurant.  But Taco Time is largely a franchisee operation, so there are a lot of bad Taco Time's.  A good Taco Time will serve you the best fast food beef taco available.  A bad Taco Time will probably still serve you a pretty good one, but not a memorable one.  

Taco Time's Crispy Taco is my favorite hard shell taco among all fast food chains.  Other menu items include huge Burritos (the Soft Meat Burrito must weigh a pound), their signature Crisp Burritos, Mexi-Fries, dinner platters, and more.

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