| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fast Food |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Products | Mexican inspired cusine |
| Website | tacojohns.com |
Taco John's is a Cheyenne, Wyoming-based[1] fast-food restaurant featuring Mexican-inspired fast-food (which the chain calls "West-Mex"). The chain was founded in 1969 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and currently has more than 400 Taco John’s restaurants in 24 states.
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John Turner started the Taco House restaurant in 1968 after being stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming and serving in the United States Army Air Corps during the Korean War. He sold the franchise rights to James Woodson and Harold Holmes, who changed the brand name to Taco John's in 1969.
While Taco John's targeted smaller Midwestern and Western communities in its early years, the chain has recently begun to open locations in larger metropolitan areas like Denver and Kansas City, where they've had a minor presence since the 1980s.[2] Taco John's also operates several outlets serving the U.S. Armed Forces through the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). Taco Bell declined to participate.
In 2004, Taco John's began to partner with Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard and Steak Escape to open co-branded restaurants.[3][4]
In December 2006, a reported 50 people became sick and 18 people were hospitalized after eating at a Taco John's restaurant in Iowa. Shortly after that, Minnesota health officials reported that an additional 27 people became ill after eating at Taco John's restaurants in Rio Grande City, Texas and Grand Forks, North Dakota.[5] On December 14, Black Hawk County, Iowa health officials stated that lettuce tainted with E. coli had been discovered within the supply chain. That same day, a Cedar Falls couple filed a lawsuit against Taco John's after their nine-year-old daughter was hospitalized for symptoms of E. coli.[6] Taco John's dropped its produce supplier, Bix Produce of Grand Forks, North Dakota, as a result of the outbreaks. After a thorough investigation by the Minnesota Department of Health and the FDA, Bix Produce was cleared of any wrong doing in the matter. The source of the outbreak was traced back to the growing fields in California. This incident came about at the same time as an unrelated E. coli outbreak at Taco Bell restaurants in the midwest of the United States.[7]
Taco John's has adopted "West-Mex" as a definition of their food and service attitude, and now holds a trademark on the term. "West-Mex" food is defined by the company as being about fresh, bold flavors due to the inclusion of their crisp potato nuggets branded as "Potatoes Olé" (see below), sauces, spices, and salsas.
Some franchises offer a breakfast menu. Many of the items on the menu use a combination of Potatoes Olé, eggs, sausage, bacon, and a flour tortilla. Selections include breakfast versions of tacos and burritos.
Potatoes Olé are Taco John's signature item and one of their most closely held trademarked items. Potatoes Olé are round, bite-sized potato nuggets, or crowns (which are similar to tater tots, but slightly smaller), that are deep fried and then coated with a proprietary blend of approximately 167 spices and seasonings. They are available for purchase by the bucket.
Potatoes Olé are also included as a filling in several different burritos (beef, chicken, steak, and Crunchy Chicken versions of its Meat and Potato Burrito, as well as their Grilled Burrito with the same protein options) (much like Taco Bell's 1/2 lb. burrito), and many of the breakfast items.
Olés are also featured in their Super Potatoes Olé platters, which come in small and regular sizes and are mostly made of Olés covered in nacho cheese, beef, beans, and other Mexican ingredients.
Before at least 1979, Potatoes Olé had been a cylindrical product with center fillings of refried beans, cheese, or meat.
Four items are normally on the dessert menu. These include churros, a star-shaped, long pastry coated with cinnamon sugar and Choco-Taco, a frozen waffle cone made in the shape of a taco shell that has chocolate and vanilla ice cream in it with almond bits and Cini-Sopapilla Bites, also dusted with cinnamon sugar. The last one is the Apple Grande, a cinnamon puff pastry with apple filling and shredded cheese and red cinnamon sugar on top.
During the Christmas holiday season, Taco John's offers Nachos Navidad, a nacho platter with red and green colored tortilla chips. Jose Feliciano's song "Feliz Navidad" is used in the commercials, and Feliciano speaks of celebrating the holiday "the Mexican way" with Nachos Navidad. A portion of sales from this item is donated to charity.
Taco John's early mascot, depicted on their street signage above the words "The Hottest Spot In Town," was a devil character. Later mascots were versions of a cartoonish, perhaps stereotypical, Mexican character named Juan with a giant sombrero and a donkey named Pépé.[8][9] However, the figure was replaced in the mid-1990s by a more modern, artistic image.
Taco John's recent advertising icons have included Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey, a popular rodeo attraction and PRCA Entertainer of the Year, who rides on his dog Ben to the rescue of hungry taco lovers.
Punk band In Defence performed their song "Call More Dudes" in a Taco John's as part of a tribute to the franchise. [10]
Wesley Willis advertised Taco John's in at least one of his songs.[11]