 | |
| Industry | Fast food |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1962 in White Center, Washington |
| Founder | Frank Tonkin, Sr. |
| Headquarters | 3401 Lind Avenue SW Renton, Washington |
Area served | Western Washington, Wenatchee, Washington, and East Wenatchee, Washington |
| Website | tacotimenw |
Taco Time Northwest is a fast-food restaurant chain with over 70 locations in western and central Washington state.
The first Taco Time opened in Eugene, Oregon in 1961 and expanded to Tacoma, Washington. The following year, Frank Tonkin, Sr., opened a location in White Center. [1] [2]
In 1979, the Tonkin family's restaurants became independent of the parent company, leading to the establishment of Accord Inc. to franchise restaurants in western Washington. The Taco Time restaurants located in eastern Washington (other than those in Wenatchee & East Wenatchee) and Oregon remained with the original corporation. [3] By 2001, Taco Time Northwest had 73 locations—of which 43 were franchised—and employed 1,500 people. [4]
Taco Time Northwest has 79 restaurants located across Western Washington, primarily centered in the Seattle metropolitan area, and two restaurants located in Eastern Washington. [5] From 2012 to 2016, [6] the company also operated a food truck called the Taco Time Traveler, which offered a limited menu at Downtown Seattle stops during the weekday lunch hour and catered community and private events on the weekend. [7] [8]
Taco Bell IP Holder, LLC, doing business as Taco Bell, is an American multinational chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, novelty, and speciality items, and a variety of "value menu" items. As of 2018, Taco Bell serves over two billion customers each year, at 7,072 restaurants, more than 93 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees and licensees.
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically part of a "meat-sweet diet", offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available for take away, though seating may be provided. Fast-food restaurants are typically part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
Dick's Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., or simply Dick's, is an American regional chain of fast-food restaurants located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It was founded in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood in 1954 by Dick Spady, H. Warren Ghormley, and Dr. B.O.A. Thomas. Dick's currently operates nine locations, of which all but one are drive-ins.
Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is an American fast-food restaurant chain that specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine, as well as American foods such as burgers, fries and shakes. Del Taco is led by Brand President Tom Rose, and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California. On December 6, 2021, Jack in the Box announced it was acquiring Del Taco for $12.51 per share. The acquisition was finalized in March 2022. Del Taco has approximately 600 locations in 16 US states.
Uwajimaya, Inc., doing business as Uwajimaya Asian Grocery & Gift Markets, is a family-owned supermarket chain with its corporate headquarters in the International District, Seattle, Washington, and with locations in Greater Seattle and Oregon. Uwajimaya sells mainly Asian food—with an emphasis on Japanese—though it also stocks Western staples. The flagship store is in Seattle's Chinatown/International District with three other stores in Beaverton, Oregon, Bellevue, Washington and Renton, Washington. From 1968 to 1991 there was another store in the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington.
Taco Time is an American fast-food restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-American food. The chain has over 226 locations in the United States and 74 locations in Western Canada. It was founded in Eugene, Oregon, in 1960 by Ron Fraedrick.
Hot 'n Now is an American fast-food restaurant based in Holt, Michigan. Founded in 1984, the chain once grew to more than 150 locations throughout the United States at its peak. Subsequently, under the ownership of PepsiCo, the chain filed for bankruptcy in 2004, and was then sold to STEN Corporation. As of March 2024, the company operates 1 location in Michigan. The majority of the chain's locations focused entirely on drive-thru service, featuring a small-footprint building with a tall, slanted roof style. Some previous locations were more traditional fast-food locations, complete with seating, and others were combined with gas stations.
Taco John's International, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant. The chain serves Mexican-inspired fast food as well as the company's signature dish, Potato Olés, which are bite-sized deep-fried potato nuggets coated with a proprietary blend of spices and seasonings. Taco John's CEO is Jim Creel, and it is headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming. As of 2022, the restaurant chain had 380 restaurants in about 22 states, primarily in the Midwest and Mountain regions.
TDM IP Holder, LLC. , doing business as Taco Del Mar, is a Denver, Colorado-based Mexican fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in coastal Mexican cuisine. The first location was opened in Seattle on June 8, 1992, by brothers James and John Schmidt. After a high of 260 locations in 2010, it has fallen to 66 locations in the United States and Canada. It is known for its relaxed, seaside-themed decor inspired by the beaches of Baja California.
Ezell's Famous Chicken is a Seattle fast food restaurant. The first restaurant was opened on February 3, 1984, in Seattle's Central District neighborhood, near Garfield High School. The restaurant chain has 12 other locations in the Puget Sound region, including a location on the Microsoft campus in Redmond that opened in 2006. In 2015, the chain opened its Spokane location, its first restaurant outside of Western Washington. The first international location for Ezell's opened in June 2015, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The Sharjah location has since closed.
Kahala Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada-based MTY Food Group Inc. of Montreal, Quebec. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kahala is one of North America's largest holding company of franchise fast food restaurant companies. In May 2016, the publicly traded Canadian MTY Food Group announced a friendly takeover deal with the Kahala Brands. MTY agreed to pay about US$300 million to acquire Kahala. The two companies generated nearly $2 billion in revenues in the previous year. Jeff Smit was chosen to lead the US operations of MTY.
Pacific Northwest cuisine is a North American cuisine that is found in the Pacific Northwest, i.e. the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska, as well as the province of British Columbia and the southern portion of the territory of Yukon, reflecting the ethnic makeup of the region, with noticeable influence from Asian and Native American traditions. With significant migration from other regions of the US, influences from Southern cuisine brought by African Americans as well as Mexican-American cuisine as Latinos migrate north from California, can be seen as well.
Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, doing business as Love's, is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 630 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma City. Love's ranked No. 10 on the 2022 Forbes list of America's largest private companies. Love's has two primary kinds of stores: country stores and travel stops. Country stores are fueling stations with a convenience store attached. The larger travel stops are located along highways and offer additional amenities such as food from restaurant chains such as Arby's, Bojangles, Burger King, Chester's, Dunkin', McDonald's, Taco John's, Subway, Wendy's, Hardee’s/Carls Jr., truck parking spaces, showers and laundry. The company started adding RV hookups and RV Stops in 2022. Love's had more than 40,000 employees in 2023.
Korean tacos are a Korean-Mexican fusion dish popular in a number of urban areas in the United States and Canada. Korean tacos originated in Los Angeles, often as street food, consisting of Korean-style fillings, such as bulgogi and kimchi, placed on top of small traditional Mexican corn tortillas. Korean burritos are a similarly themed dish, using larger flour tortillas as a wrap.
The Habit Burger Grill is a California-based fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in chargrilled hamburgers. The company also sells other typical fast-casual fare. It was founded in 1969 at Santa Barbara, California and its headquarters are in Irvine, California.
Olympia Provisions is an American meat and restaurant company that produces artisan charcuterie based out of Portland, Oregon.
A taco stand or taquería is a food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is typically prepared quickly and tends to be inexpensive. Many various ingredients may be used, and various taco styles may be served. Taco stands are an integral part of Mexican street food. Tacos became a part of traditional Mexican cuisine in the early 20th century, beginning in Mexico City, as what had been a miner's snack began to be sold on street corners in the city. Shops selling tacos have since proliferated throughout Mexico and other areas with a heavy Mexican culinary and cultural influence, including much of the Western United States and most other larger American cities. More typical taquerías specialize in tacos, as expected, but in some localities it can be used to refer to restaurants specializing in burritos, where tacos themselves are less of a point of emphasis.
District Taco is a Mexican restaurant chain with 15 locations in the Mid-Atlantic region, mostly in the Washington, D.C., area. It serves Yucatan-style cuisine, including burritos, quesadillas, tacos, and other items. It was founded in 2009 as a food truck in Rosslyn, Virginia and opened its first traditional location in Arlington the next year. In 2018, it was announced that the chain plans to open a location in Downtown Silver Spring. In 2016, founder Osiris Hoil was a winner of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Carmelo's Tacos is a Mexican restaurant with two locations in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.
Rancho Bravo Tacos is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington. Owner Freddy Rivas started the business as a food truck in Kent in 2002, before relocating to Wallingford in 2007. The business also operated restaurants on Capitol Hill and in the University District. Serving cuisine such as tacos, nachos, burritos, tamales, and tortas, the business has garnered a generally positive reception as an inexpensive and late night option for diners, with the tacos and burritos receiving the most praise.