Taco Time (stylized as TacoTime) is an American

fast-food restaurant 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, fast-food cuisine and has minimal Foodservice#Table service, table service. The food served ...

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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 Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, in 1960 by Ron Fraedrick.

History

The chain was founded in Eugene by Ron Fraedrick (1928–2015), who opened the first restaurant near his alma mater, the University of Oregon, at 13th Avenue and High Street in January 1960. In 1962, the first Taco Time franchise opened in White Center, Washington. In the 1970s, the company expanded to 48 restaurants in seven Western states. In 1978, the company franchised its first international restaurant in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

, Alberta, Canada. In 1979, Taco Time Northwest became a licensee with the rights to franchise and operate the Taco Time concept independently. Taco Time Northwest's operating region includes western Washington from Longview to the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

and the eastern Washington cities of Wenatchee and Moses Lake. In 1984, a location in The Dalles was poisoned by members of the

Rajneesh movement The Rajneesh movement are people inspired by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (1931–1990), also known as Osho, particularly initiated disciples who are referred to as "neo-sannyasins". They used to be known as ''Rajneeshees'' or "Orang ...

in a bioterror attack. Taco Time has since expanded, now holding more than 300 franchises in the United States, Canada, Kuwait, and

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

(

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

). During the 1990s, there were also multiple locations in Greece. In 2003, the company was bought by Kahala Brands of Scottsdale, Arizona.

References

External links

* * {{Fast-food chains of the United States Kahala Brands Companies based in Eugene, Oregon Companies based in Scottsdale, Arizona Privately held companies based in Oregon Restaurants in Oregon Economy of the Western United States Regional restaurant chains in the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food chains of Canada Restaurants established in 1960 Fast-food Mexican restaurants Multinational companies 1960 establishments in Oregon 2003 mergers and acquisitions Restaurants in Eugene, Oregon