Restaurants
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ByJennifer Geer
Taco Bell helped to spread America's love of tacos, getting its start in California in the 1960s. Since then, Mexican ingredients and Tex-Mex cuisine have become increasingly popular in the U.S. Indeed, salsa consistently outsells ketchup in America and has been doing so since 1992. In the past few years, Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants have seen even more growth and are projected to continue this upward trend.
Although there seem to be Taco Bell and Chipotle locations on just about every corner, there are plenty of up-and-coming brands poised to make their entrance into the nationwide market. These fast food and fast-casual restaurants may offer traditional Mexicanfoodor Tex-Mex, or they may have unique combinations of flavors from other cultures, but the trends for most of them are similar: made-from-scratch ingredients prepared on-site with convenient ordering and fast delivery.
Mashed has done some digging to find Mexican chain restaurants that we predict are about to stop cropping up everywhere. Some of the following restaurants have humble beginnings as taco trucks, while many have their roots in Texas.From franchises to multi-unit deals, read on to see the following restaurants that are ready for some major expansion.
Torchy's Tacos
This fast-growing taco joint got its start as a taco truck in Austin, Texasin 2006. Today, there are 125 locations across 14 states with plans to expand further. Torchy's stands out from the competition with its fun taco combinations and light-hearted brand. The not-so-secret "secret menu"offers items such as Green Chile Pork Missionary Style made with slow-roasted pork carnitas, green chiles, pickled onions, guacamole, jack cheese, and cilantro topped with chipotle sauce. All of this is placed in a crispy corn tortilla inside of a soft flour tortilla.
In 2023, Torchy's had over 10% growth with plans to continue its expansion at a consistent pace. CEO Mike Rypka told Nation's Restaurant News the company plans a 10 to 15% annual growth rate, targeting large metro areas like Washington, D.C."I think any faster than that and you're going to get yourself in trouble," Rypka said. "You can't grow past your people, so we will really make sure, from a bench perspective, we focus a lot of time and energy making sure who our talent is to support that growth."
Condado Tacos
Once a favorite of students around The Ohio State University, Condado Tacos has more recently been steadily making its way across the country. The restaurant opened its first location in 2014 in Columbus near The Ohio State University campus. It proved to be very popular and so, one decade later, the company has grown to50 locations across 10 states with serious plans in place to continue that expansion. USA Todaynamed it the fourth best "cheap eats" in the country and the company was listed as one ofthe Fastest-Growing Private Restaurant Companies by Inc. 5000. Condado Tacos grew by 25% in 2023 by opening10 new restaurants. The company has plans to continue its growth by opening 12 new locations every year.
Condado Tacos is known for its colorful atmosphere and preservative-free, fresh tacos. The restaurant offers a variety of burritos, tacos, taco bowls, and vegan options, such as the Baja shrimp taco and fire-roasted street bowl.The restaurant recently named Derrick Pratt as its new CEO. Pratt was the chief operating officer of Portillo's (another quickly growing fast-casual restaurant chain.) "Condado Tacos has doubled over the last three years to 50 locations across 10 states and 18 markets to date, and we are thrilled to have Derrick lead the company through its next phase of growth," ChairmanJohn G. Troiano explained in astatement (via Nation's Restaurant News).
Bubbakoo's Burritos
For many years, Bubbakoo's Burritos has been a popular Mexican joint along the Jersey Shore. Known for its casual surfer vibes, the first Bubbakoo's opened in Point Pleasant, New Jersey in 2008. Since then, Bubbakoo's has opened over 100 locations and can currently be found in 15 states.In 2023 alone, Bubbakoo's has opened15 new restaurants (a 14.9% increase). Cofounder Paul Altero told Nation's Restaurant News that the company plans on opening 13 more restaurants in 2024. Only 12 locations are company-owned, with the rest franchised. Bubbakoo's began in the Northeast and Florida but has been expanding into the Midwest, opening several locations in Ohio."It's just a matter of time before we're at 500 stores and working our way to 1,000 stores," Altero said to Nation's Restaurant News.
Bubbakoo's stands out from the crowd with its unique menu combinations including the Sweet Chili Pineapple Shrimp Burrito (hibachi shrimp tossed in sweet chili sauce and served with pineapple salsa) and Gochujang Mang Tacos (soft shell chicken and pepper tacos tossed in gochujang sauce.) There are plenty of healthy options including lifestyle bowls and vegan entrees.The menu also has its share of uncommon desserts such as Boardwalk Cookies which are hand-breaded, deep-fried Oreos topped with powdered sugar, or Love Chips (flour tortillas sweetened with powdered sugar and a caramel or raspberry drizzle.)
Fajita Pete's
Fajita Pete's was once only known to Texans, but today it's working to make its mark on the rest of the country. The company opened its first restaurant in Houston in 2008,focusing on Tex-Mex fajitas. Shortly after that debut, however, the area was hit with a major hurricane. While many nearby businesses and homes lost power, Fajita Pete's kept going and was able to serve up fresh fajitas to the community in the aftermath of the storm.
Although the original restaurant was full-service, the concept changed by 2015. By that point, Fajita Pete's had scaled down its menu and begun to focus on catering and delivery. The company has since opened a franchised restaurant near Chicago and is currently in five states and 25 cities. Franchising has fueled much of Fajita Pete's growth; as founder Pedro "Pete" Mora told el Restaurante, "Our goal is to have growth from within our current franchisees so that we can scale in an efficient manner."
Fajita Pete's offers fajita platters with protein options such as chicken breast pulled pork, beef, and shrimp. The fajitas come with "the works" which includes classic Tex-Mex style toppings such as lettuce, beans, salsa, cheese, and guacamole. The tortillas are handmade, the guacamole is fresh, and the sides are made from scratch.
Taco Palenque
This fast-casual Mexican restaurant began in Laredo, Texas way back in 1987. Offering authentic Mexican food to the hungry diners of south Texas, Taco Palenque has seen serious recent growth. For instance, it grew by just over 25% in 2023. Today, you still won't find a Taco Palenque outside of Texas, but that could be changing very soon. That's because company founder Juan Francisco Ochoa Sr. has said that hehas plans for expanding the restaurant across the country. What's more, Ochoa is no stranger to growing a Mexcian chain — he founded El Pollo Loco in 1975 which has nearly 500 locations today.
Taco Palenque's menu is filled with authentic Mexican flavors such as soft and crispy tacos stuffed with pork al pastor, marinated chicken breast, chopped sirloin, and refried beans. The restaurant also serves other authentic Mexican dishes such as enchiladas, flautas, burritos, and enmoladas (a chicken mole enchilada from Central Mexico.) If you don't live in South Texas and you can't wait for a Taco Palenque to open near you, you are in luck. Taco Palenque has partnered with Goldbelly to ship TacoPalenque food kits nationwide.
Chuy's Restaurant
Chuy's began in 1982 in Austin, Texas. Founders Mike Young and John Zapp opened the Tex-Mex full-service restaurant with the goal of offering freshly-made, authentic Tex-Mex in a funky atmosphere. Chuy's decor is an eclectic mix of special pieces and no two restaurants are the same. For nearly 20 years, Chuy's remained a Texas-only establishment, offering fresh Tex-Mex dishes such as fajitas marinated in an old South Texas family recipe. In 2009, Chuy's decided to move beyond Texas and opened its first location outside of the state in Nashville.
Today, Chuy's has over 100 restaurants in 15 states, but we predict you are about to see a lot more in the near future. Restaurant conglomerate Darden Restaurants, Inc. (which owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakouse) has acquired the Mexican chain. Darden CEO Rick Cardenas didn't offer specifics on growth when he spoke to FSR, but he did note that "They do have quite a few restaurants in their pipeline. We're going to keep those going and we're going to continue to build the pipeline."
For now, if you're craving Chuy's and there isn't a location nearby, you can whip up acopycat Chuy's creamy jalapeño dip recipe fairly easily.
Fuzzy's Taco Shop
The first Fuzzy's Taco Shop was founded byPaul Willis in 2001nearthe campus of Texas Christian University. Known for its large menu, moderate prices, and full bar, Willis sold the successful restaurant two years later toAlan and Chuck Bush. The duo grew the single restaurant into a chain spanning 10 states. In 2022, Dine Brands (owner of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and IHOP) acquired Fuzzy's and plans to grow the chain in 2025. According to Nation's Restaurant News, the company is on the search for multi-unit franchisees, signing a 20-unit deal in Nevada and a 40-unit deal in Arizona and Texas. As President Paul Damico told Nation's Restaurant News, "I think 2025 is going to be a year where we introduce the brand into new markets and have a bigger opportunity to share our environment and food with a whole new group that has never tried our brand before."
Some of Fuzzy's most notable features are its dog-friendly patios, seasonal items, and expansive menu. Fuzzy's offers burritos, tacos, bowls, nachos, quesadillas, salads, and breakfast items. Fuzzy's doesn't only offer a wide variety of foods but has a full bar as well with margaritas and co*cktails.
Velvet Taco
Velvet Taco got its start in Dallas in 2011. In a little over 10 years, the company has grown to nearly 50 restaurants in seven states. While most of its locations are in Texas, Velvet Taco has stores as far-flung as Miami and Chicago.But CEO Clay Dover told Nation's Restaurant News the company has the infrastructure to expand to 200 locations by 2030. One strategy is to build restaurants in airports. "These locations are going to help with brand awareness as we grow," Dover said. "Millions and millions of people go through these airports and there will be tons of eyeballs on our brand."
Velvet Taco stands out from the crowd by offering made-from-scratch food, including the house-brined pickles and sauces. The tacos draw on a unique blend of flavors, combining Mexican dishes with Indian and Asian inspiration, such as Spicy Tikka Chicken. The Tikka Chicken comes served with something you won't often see at a taco joint: buttered cilantro basmati rice. Another option is the Sweet Chile Shrimp made with panko-fried shrimp and served with a kimchi slaw. Another option is the southern style Chicken & Waffle Taco.
Surcheros
The first Surchero's opened in Douglas, Georgia in 2007. This Tex-Mex restaurant is known for its customizable food with generous topping choices. Highlights on the menu include burrito bowls, grilled burritos, quesadillas, and nachos. But it's the fresh topping choices that stand out. Customers can choose from items such as black olives, freshly squeezed lime, mushrooms, corn salsa, or southwestern vinaigrette."We're putting our own unique spin on Tex-Mex — we call it Fresh Mex. Everything is made fresh daily, and we feel this is a big differentiator in a competitive category," Jami Horowitz Kimbrough, VP of Marketing, told QSR.
In2017the company began franchising, a move that saw the restaurant really take off.The company currently has30 restaurants in Georgia and Florida and opened three new restaurants in the last quarter of 2023. What's more, Surchero's has signed deals to expand into other states, includingseven units in Nashville and four in South Carolina. That likely won't be all, as the company plans to open 100 restaurants in the next five years.
BurritoBar
You may not have heard of BurritoBar yet, but we think that will change. BurritoBar is a Canadian company with big plans to expand 750 units into the U.S. market. BurritoBar (known as BarBurrito in Canada) launched in 2005 in Toronto as has 250 locations around Canada today. The company has recently announced a 93-unit franchise deal in New Jersey, in addition to franchise deals already in 10 states. As Jeff Young, Chief Development Officer explained in a statement, "BurritoBaris witnessing explosive growth in the U.S. market and our accelerated franchise program has been delivering remarkable results with the signing of Master Franchise agreements in Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa, Nebraska, North Texas, South Illinois, Ohio and now Jersey."
BurritoBar serves Tex-Mex burritos and burrito bowls with protein choices that include crunchy fish, barbacoa, jerk chicken, and bang bang shrimp. Customers can choose their rice, choice of protein, and toppings. The fast-casual restaurant offers a wide choice of sauces as well, including lime crema, chipotle BBQ, jalapeño eclipse, and spicy Buffalo.
Taco Cabana
Unless you are in Texas, you probably haven't come across aTaco Cabana. At least you haven't yet. The San Antonio-based fast-casual Mexican restaurant has over 140 locations in Texas with plans to bring that number to 1,000 restaurants around the country. Taco Cabana has been around since the 1970s when the first location opened in San Antonio. It served Mexican-inspired fast food at a time when there weren't many such chains in the U.S. (although Taco Bell has been around since the '60s). Taco Cabana has remained a staple in Texas and today serves street tacos, breakfast burritos, quesadillas, enchilada platters, and much more.
In 2021, Taco Cabana was acquired byYadav Enterprises for $85 million. Yadav oversees major chains include Jack in the Box, Denny's, and TGI Fridays. As owner Anil Yadav told QSR, "I loved everything about the brand [Taco Cabana]. I mean of course the brand is a great legacy, been around the Texas market for 35-plus years as a regional brand, but has the ability to be a national brand." Yadav plans to streamline the restaurants with upgraded drive-thrus and an easier ordering process for take-out customers.
District Taco
District Taco offers a Yucatan-style fast-casual menu with fresh ingredients. People living in the Mid-Atlantic region may be the only ones familiar with this taco joint, but that likely won't last for much longer. From its start as a food truck in 2009, District Taco has expanded to 17 locations in Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In 2023, the company signed franchise deals to bring District Taco to Florida and add locations in Virginia. The company's goals include growing to 80 locations by 2027 by opening10 to 15 locations per year.Co-founder Osiris Hoil said in a statement, "District Taco began as a small dream and has now expanded across several states due to our commitment to serving fresh, authentic Mexican food and our focus on innovation. This is an exciting step for our brand and we are making a name for ourselves as leaders in the industry."
District Taco has a simple menu where customers can choose their items (burritos, tacos, etc.), pick their protein, and add toppings and salsa. The food is madein-houseusing fresh ingredients with even the chips fried on-site. The fresh, whole food, including vegan and vegetarian options, appeals to health-conscious customers while the Yucatan-style dining provides a difference from the usual Tex-Mex or Mexican fast-casual options.
