Del Taco

Del Taco is an American fast-food chain that sells tacos, burritos and burgers, founded in 1964 by Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson in Yermo, a desert town in San Bernardino County, California. Like Taco Bell, it belongs to the family of Southern California taco chains whose roots historians trace to the Mexican American taco stands of the Inland Empire.

History

According to the company's own history, Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson opened the first Del Taco in Yermo, California, in 1964. The opening menu offered tacos for 19 cents along with tostadas, French fries and cheeseburgers, and the first day's takings of 169 dollars represented roughly 900 tacos. The chain reached 50 restaurants by 1977 and 100 by 1978, when it added items such as the bun taco and quesadilla.

In 1988, by the company's account, Del Taco merged with the Naugles chain, greatly expanding its reach, and it began staying open around the clock. It opened its 500th restaurant in 2008. In the 2010s it introduced a signature item called The Del Taco and a value menu of items priced at a dollar or less, and began adding ingredients such as sliced avocado.

Place in taco history

Del Taco's story is entwined with the broader Southern California fast-food taco. The 2023 PBS SoCal series Lost LA, in an episode featuring Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano, described San Bernardino's Mitla Cafe, opened in 1937, as having planted the seeds for two tortilla-based chains, Taco Bell and Del Taco. Mitla's crisp tacos of ground beef, lettuce and yellow cheese became the template for the hard-shell taco that these chains sold across the country.

Del Taco differs from Taco Bell in pairing Mexican American items with an American burger-and-fries menu, a combination present from its first day. Mitla was opened by Lucia Rodriguez and her husband Salvador, Mexican immigrants, and its tacos were modeled on Mexican tacos dorados. Glen Bell, who learned their frying method at his hamburger stand across the street, went on to found Taco Bell in 1962, and the chains that followed borrowed the same formula of an inexpensive fried shell, seasoned beef and cold toppings.

Where to try it

• Mitla Cafe, San Bernardino, California: 1937 restaurant whose tacos are linked to the origins of both Taco Bell and Del Taco.

Reviews

See also

• Taco Bell
• Hard-shell taco
• Cal-Mex tacos

References

1. "Del Taco - History". Del Taco. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
2. "Lost LA | Taco Bell's Fast Food Origin Story". PBS SoCal. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
3. "An Oral History of Hard Shell Tacos". MEL Magazine. Retrieved 2026-10-10.