TacoTime

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title: "TacoTime" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["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", "fast-food-franchises", "restaurants-established-in-1960", "fast-food-mexican-restaurants", "multinational-companies", "1960-establishments-in-oregon", "2003-mergers-and-acquisitions", "restaurants-in-eugene,-oregon"] description: "American fast food restaurant chain" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TacoTime" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American fast food restaurant chain ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	TacoTime
logo	TacoTime logo.svg
image	File:TacoTimeTheDallesOR.jpg
image_caption	TacoTime in The Dalles, Oregon
type	Private
foundation
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.
founder	Ron Fraedrick (1928–2015)
location	Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. (2003)
locations	Over 300 (2010)
area_served
key_people	Kevin Gingrich
(Brand President)
industry	Food
products	Tacos, burritos, and other Tex-Mex cuisine-related
fast food
parent	Kahala Brands
owner	MTY Food Group
homepage	tacotime.com
::

::callout[type=note] the restaurant chain's operations outside of western Washington ::

| name = TacoTime | logo = TacoTime logo.svg | logo_size = | image = File:TacoTimeTheDallesOR.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = TacoTime in The Dalles, Oregon | type = Private | foundation = Eugene, Oregon, U.S. | founder = Ron Fraedrick (1928–2015) | location = Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. (2003) | locations = Over 300 (2010) | area_served = | key_people = Kevin Gingrich (Brand President) | industry = Food | products = Tacos, burritos, and other Tex-Mex cuisine-related fast food | parent = Kahala Brands | owner = MTY Food Group | homepage = tacotime.com Taco Time (stylized as TacoTime) is an American fast-food restaurant chain 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, 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, 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 and the eastern Washington cities of Wenatchee and Moses Lake.

In 1984, food at a location in The Dalles was allegedly poisoned by members of the Rajneesh movement in a bioterror attack.

Taco Time has since expanded, now holding more than 300 franchises in the United States, Canada, Kuwait, and Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao). During the 1990s, there were also multiple locations in Greece.

In 2003, the company was bought by Kahala Brands of Scottsdale, Arizona.

References

References

1. (April 26, 2015). "Soiled plastic in his taco, then poor customer service".
2. Barker, George. (December 14, 1984). "Taco Time: Original structure moves to Springfield". Eugene Register-Guard.
3. Barker, George. (December 14, 1984). "Taco Time: Original Structure Moves to Springfield". [[The Register-Guard]].
4. (August 11, 1987). "Taco Time founder named top retailer". Eugene Register-Guard.
5. "The TacoTime Brand Story {{!}} TacoTime Franchise {{!}} Mexican Restaurant Franchise".
6. Dylan Thuras. (9 January 2014). "The Secret's in the Sauce: Bioterror at the Salsa Bar". [[Slate (magazine).
7. (1996). "Restaurant Business". Restaurant Business.
8. (2010). "220 Best Franchises to Buy: The Essential Sourcebook for Evaluating the Best Franchise Opportunities". Crown Publishing Group.
9. Radford, Dean. (May 26, 2012). "Renton-based Taco Time marks 50th anniversary". [[Renton Reporter]].
10. Baker, Mark. (October 1, 2017). "Man who started Taco Time in Eugene remembered".
11. (October 26, 2017). "This Taco Chain Isn't Really About The Tacos".
12. (September 3, 2015). "3 years after hoax, Bethel will have its tacos".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::