Torchy's Tacos

Torchy's Tacos

Torchy's Tacos food truck at the South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery in 2011.
Company type	Private
Industry	Food service
Founded	Austin, Texas, United States 2006;19 years ago (2006)
Headquarters	Austin, Texas , United States
Number of locations	over 110 locations (as of 2023)
Area served	United States
Key people	Mike Rypka, CEO [1]
Products	Tacos
Website	torchystacos.com

Torchy's Tacos is a fast casual taco chain based in Austin, Texas, United States. As of 2023, they have over 110 locations across 14 states. ^{[1] [2]}

History

Torchy's Tacos initially began as a food truck in Austin in 2006 by Mike Rypka, who is CEO of the company. ^{[1] [3]} They began to transition into brick and mortar locations starting in 2010. Beginning in other large cities in Texas such as Dallas and Houston, from there, they began expanding into other markets in Texas and in surrounding states. ^[4] They do not franchise stores and there are currently no plans to do so. ^[2]

Their mascot is a baby devil, which came after an epiphany Rypka had. ^{[3] [4]} Their slogan, "Damn Good", came from the positive feedback they received from their customers. ^[2] In 2019, during South by Southwest, they parachuted tacos to attendees of the festival. ^[5]

Torchy's Tacos was featured on season 9 of the Travel Channel series Food Paradise in 2016, ^[6] and again on season 11 in 2017. ^[7] Delish ranked Torchy's as one of the best taco spots in America in 2019. ^[8] In 2023, readers of USA Today ranked the chain as one of the best fast casual restaurants in the United States. ^[9]

Tacos from Torchy's Tacos in 2015.

References

1. Anderson, Will (September 14, 2023). "What Torchy's boss Mike Rypka has learned in 17 years making Trailer Park tacos". Business Insider. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
2. Kelso, Alicia (April 29, 2023). "Torchy's Tacos has stuck to its mission of being 'damn good'". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
3. Gupta, Boshika (September 27, 2020). "The Untold Truth Of Torchy's Tacos". mashed. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
4. Manning, Steve (May 18, 2023). "How Torchy's Tacos Became So "Damn Good"". Restaurant Spaces. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
5. Wilson, Andrew; Huffman, Cody (March 12, 2019). "Austin's Torchy's Tacos rain down on SXSW attendees". KVUE. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
6. "Torchy's Tacos". TV Food Map. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
7. "epiodate.com". ww1.epiodate.com.
8. Livermore, Sienna (April 15, 2019). "The 50 Best Taco Spots in America". Delish. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
9. "These are the 10 best fast casual restaurants in the US". USA Today. July 14, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2024.