- Taco Bueno, a popular Southern taco fast-food chain, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- We visited the chain on a recent trip through the South, and we were impressed.
- The food straddles the line between decadent and fresh – it feels like a grown-up Taco Bell.
In the southern half of the country, taco chains seem to be a dime a dozen: Del Taco, Taco John’s, Taco Bell … the list goes on. But during a recent food-focused field trip to the South, one chain stood out to us among the Tex-Mex clatter: Taco Bueno.
It seemed to be the best of both worlds. It’s got both the decadent playfulness of Taco Bell and the fresh touch of Del Taco or Qdoba.
Yet as with most good things in the world, it’s not always easy. The chain announced that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, and that it had been by acquired by Taco Supremo, an affiliate of Sun Holdings.
In a statement about the bankruptcy filing, Taco Bueno CEO Omar Junjua emphasized that the chain wasn’t going anywhere: “We are implementing this plan through a court-supervised financial restructuring, and I want to emphasize that during this process, your local Taco Bueno restaurants are open and eager to serve you.”
It may be experiencing some financial woes, but Taco Bueno absolutely charmed us when we visited. Here's why we're hoping it'll pull through and keep on serving tacos for years to come:
At an unassuming mall outside Shawnee, Oklahoma, we stopped to rest — and to feast.
The inside followed the same faux-Spanish Mission aesthetic as the outside, with a more cafeteria-esque charm. Everything was clean and orderly, with bright lights and lots of seating.
The menu is a comfortable size — big enough for everyone to have options, but not overwhelmingly complex.
There's a separate fresh salsa station offering a breadth of additional options, similar to El Pollo Loco.
Our order was huge: a #1 combo consisting of a crispy taco, a "Muchacho" beef soft taco, and a bean burrito; a towering taco salad; a "Taco Burger;" and chips with guacamole. Luckily, we came hungry.
Hollis considers himself something of a fast-food taco salad connoisseur, and he was duly impressed by Taco Bueno's "Big Freak'n Taco Salad." The size is huge, and the lettuce-to-taco-filling ratio is adequate (too much lettuce is boring, too little lettuce is pointless as a salad). The mini taco shell of queso is a nice touch, too.
It's filling, and definitely not healthy, but calling it a "salad" is a nice way to fool yourself into thinking it is. The guacamole is fairly decent, too, and it's apparently made fresh. We did come across a few bits of avocado in it.
The crispy taco is satisfactory. The shell stayed crispy, which is a must, and the toppings are adequate.
The Muchacho soft taco is standard fare — nothing too special about it. It's basically just a soft version of the classic crispy, but slathered with refried beans for more heartiness.
The Taco Burger was recommended to us by the cashier, so of course we had to try it. It's an odd meal, but strangely good. It's essentially a Tex-Mex Sloppy Joe that's not a normal menu item, as it's only offered on certain occasions or during promotions. There's taco-seasoned ground beef and shredded cheese stuffed in a soft burger bun; it's simple, yet decadent.
It's pretty good, to boot. It makes a good, quick snack, as it's small enough to wolf down on the go, but filling enough to keep you going.
Overall, the meal was so large, we barely finished it. But we were happy.
Taco Bueno looks like a humble Taco Bell clone, but it's far from it. It takes the best of Taco Bell — weird, gross, cheesy guilty pleasure food — and combines it with hearty salsas and quality ingredients that actually taste fresh. It's a grownup Taco Bell, mature but still harboring a mischievous streak.
This new bankruptcy filing isn't the best news for the chain, obviously — but we're hoping it can weather the storm and come out the other side, ready to serve more heaping taco salads.
