Taco Cabana is a patio restaurant with more than one hundred branches in the U.S.; New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. It was founded in 1978 by Felix Stehling, and is today under the Fiesta restaurant group.

Stehling wanted to create more parking space for the family bar customers so he bought the Dairy Queen which was across the street from the family’s popular bar – Crystal Pistol. It was here that he decided to open a taco stand and due to the open air nature of the structure already there, the signature Patio café concept was born.

While Felix took to the management of their café, his wife was in charge of the décor which was later adopted in all Taco Cabana cafes. It was only after their first night in business, that Felix and his wife came back the next morning to find all the furniture gone.

This did not deter the avid business man because he decided to make the cafes a twenty four-hour operation. Business was doing so well that the founder saw it necessary to bring his family into it. But in 1986, his two brothers left due to differences concerning the company’s future.

Under the management of executive director Richard Cervera, the Cabana began expanding and it was not long before it went public with its first stock offering. Due to continuous success, imitators came up but the restaurant went to court and won against the competition. In fact, Taco Cabana was able to acquire their biggest imitator which is a move that earned them more sales.

 

In an up and down journey, the company changed leadership but the sales kept growing due to interesting Mexican delights prepared fresh each day. The restaurants do not serve pre-prepared or pre-packaged food.

The great recession made the company think of ways to keep customers coming and they created the Cabana Cares program; which was meant to encourage customers to give feedback for a chance to win discounts.

Taco Cabana Patio Cafes have grown to become a major contributor to the economy today. The menu has constantly changed and so have the restaurants, particularly in décor and ambience. There are renovations to improve customer experience and most exciting are the hanging estrella’ lights and large Mexican street photos on the walls.

As the renovations continue in different locations, customers will enjoy three-dollar happy hours and tasty offerings on the menu for less than 5 USD.

Since 2012, loyal Taco Cabana fans are able to buy their favorite merchandise from TCgear.com with most people loving the witty T-shirts associated with the restaurants.

These Mexican restaurants in America have had a truly inspirational journey and it is this success story that makes their food delightful.