Rusty Taco

Rusty Taco

Formerly	R Taco (2015–2018)
Company type	Private
Industry	Restaurants
Genre	Fast casual
Founded	2010; 15 years ago (2010) Dallas, Texas, United States
Founders	Rusty Fenton Denise Fenton
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia , U.S.
Number of locations	37 as of December 2021^[update]
Area served	Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and Virginia
Key people	Rusty Fenton (founder) Denise Fenton (Brand Director co-founder) Steve Dunn (Co-founder and partner)
Products	Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, taco salads, desserts
Number of employees	145 (not including franchises) (2018)
Parent	Independent (2010–2014) Buffalo Wild Wings (2014–2018) Inspire Brands (2018–2022) Gala Capital Partners (2022-Present)
Website	rustytaco.com

Rusty Taco is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants originating in Dallas, Texas in 2010, by founders Rusty Fenton and his wife, Denise Fenton. Rusty Taco is a subsidiary of Gala Capital Partners. As of 2022^[update], there are 37 restaurants in nine states.

History

Rusty Taco was founded by Rusty Fenton, his wife Denise and Steve Dunn in 2010. The first location was opened at a former gas station.[1] Rusty Fenton died in 2013 of kidney cancer.[2]

Name change

The name was shortened to R Taco in 2015,[3] but on September 5, 2018, R Taco announced it was changing its name back to Rusty Taco.[4]

Inspire Brands subsidiary

In 2014, a majority of shares of Rusty Taco were acquired by Buffalo Wild Wings.[5] Buffalo Wild Wings along with R Taco were acquired by Arby's Restaurant Group in 2018, forming Inspire Brands.[6]

On December 19, 2022, Inspire Brands announced that it had sold Rusty Taco to Gala Capital Partners, owner of Cicis Pizza, Dunn Brothers Coffee, and Mooyah.[7]

References

1. "The R Taco Story". R Taco.
2. DeBaun, Dan (January 30, 2017). "R Taco CEO wants to double number of locations this year". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
3. Kezar, Korri (September 15, 2015). "Rusty Taco rebranding removes late co-founder's name: CEO and co-founder Steve Dunn says the new name will better preserve late co-founder Rusty Fenton's memory". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
4. "Rusty Taco Returns to its Roots with Name Change". 2018-09-05.
5. Robinson-Jacobs, Karen (14 September 2015). "Dallas-born Rusty Taco to become R Taco". Dallas Morning News.
6. Taylor, Kate (October 7, 2018). "Arby's former CEO is building a fast-food empire". Business Insider. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
7. Maze, Jonathan (19 December 2022). "Inspire Brands sells Rusty Taco to the owner of Cicis Pizza". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

External links

• Official website