El Torito (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "the little bull") is an American

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

that serves

Mexican food Mexican cuisine consists of the cuisines and associated traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine's ingredients and methods arise from the area's first agricultural communities ...

. El Torito operates 25 restaurants all in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. El Torito is one of several Mexican cuisine restaurant chains operated by Xperience Restaurant Group. Founded in 1954, El Torito claims to be "a pioneer in the California full service Mexican casual dining restaurant segment".

History

El Torito was founded in 1954 by Larry J. Cano.OC Weekly.
El Torito Founder Is Still the Big Enchilada
." January 6, 2011. Cano had served tours in the U.S Army in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, earned a business degree and worked tending bar. In 1954, he was the manager of a Polynesian restaurant. When the restaurant’s owner died, his widow passed ownership on to Cano. He began serving Mexican food at the restaurant, and it became the first El Torito. At one point, Cano began struggling financially and moved into the restaurant. Within three years the restaurant became successful, and Cano opened additional locations. By 1976, he had 20 locations, and sold the business to

W. R. Grace and Company Grace is an American chemical business based in Columbia, Maryland. It produces specialty chemicals and specialty materials in two divisions: Grace Catalysts Technologies, which makes polyethylene and polypropylene catalysts and related products ...

for about $20 million. They hired Cano as the president with a directive for rapid expansion. Grace sold its restaurants in a leveraged buyout in 1986. The resulting firm, Restaurant Enterprises Group, Inc. (REGI), filed for bankruptcy in 1993. In 1994, REGI was acquired out of bankruptcy by Foodmaker, who renamed itself to Family Restaurants, then Koo Koo Roo Enterprises, then Prandium. In 2000,

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

bought El Torito from Prandium. Acapulco renamed its parent company to Real Mex Restaurants in 2004 and moved the headquarters to

Cypress, California Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. Its population was 50,151 as of the 2020 census. History Cypress originally was nicknamed "Waterville" due to the preponderance of artesian wells in the area, but was incorporated ...

. In February 1994, engineers working on an extension of the CD-ROM specification visited El Torito in Irvine and later named the specification after the restaurant. On October 3, 2011, Real Mex Restaurants filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy and announced that it was putting itself up for sale, citing the poor economy. No plans were announced to close restaurants or layoff staff. It was acquired by a group of its noteholders in a bankruptcy auction in 2012. In 2018, FM Restaurants HoldCo, LLC acquired Real Mex Restaurants out of bankruptcy and begun operating under Xperience Restaurant Group led by Randy Sharpe, former vice president of operations of the El Torito division. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group begun renovating 19 of their 31 locations in Southern California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torito Mexican restaurants Restaurants in Orange County, California Companies based in Orange County, California Cuisine of the Western United States Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1954 1976 mergers and acquisitions 1986 mergers and acquisitions 2000 mergers and acquisitions 2012 mergers and acquisitions 1954 establishments in California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1993 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018