Taco John’s was started in 1968 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  It was started as the Taco House and in 1969 the restaurant franchise rights were purchased by Harold Holmes and James Woodson.  They renamed the chain Taco John’s and began selling franchises right away.  They did not focus on large urban areas like many other fast foods chains, but instead they aimed for less traditional areas.  They opened the first three franchises in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Torrington, Wyoming, and Rapid City, South Dakota.  They opened many more locations in small rural communities that other chains simply ignored.  There are currently over 425 Taco John’s locations across 25 different states and most of them are located in the Heartland of America.

Taco John’s is well-known for large portions of great tasting Mexican food that is served quickly at a fair price.  They serve a variety of tacos, burritos, Mexican specialties, side items, beverages, sandwiches, and desserts.  They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with many combination platters for any time of the day.  Taco John’s uses top quality ingredients and makes the food they serve fresh every single day.

Taco John’s is still expanding through restaurant franchises and they require that all franchisees have knowledge of food service along with prior business management experience.  They will teach you the Taco John’s business, but they do require organizational skills, a work ethic, and people skills.  Taco John’s charges a 4% royalty fee of the net sales of every location on a monthly basis along with 3% for advertising and 0.5% for the Advertising Production Fund.  It takes about 6 to 9 months to get a Taco John’s location up and running depending on licensing and local permits.  They also require that all restaurant franchisees have a net worth of at least a half million dollars with $200,000 being liquid assets.  They do offer training and the initial franchise fee is $25,000.