private industry fast food founded march 14 1969 headquarters cheyenne wyoming u.s. products mexican inspired cuisine website tacojohns.com taco john s is a cheyenne wyoming based 1 fast food restaurant featuring mexican inspired fast food which it calls west mex . the chain was founded in 1969 in cheyenne wyoming and now comprises more than 400 restaurants in 25 states . new concept taco john s restaurant july 2013 contents 1 history 2 fare 2.1 lunch and dinner foods 2.2 breakfast menu 2.3 potato ol s 2.4 desserts 2.5 seasonal items 3 advertising 3.1 2006 e. coli outbreak 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit taco john s began as a small taco stand in cheyenne wyoming named taco house that opened in 1968 . 2 john turner started the taco house restaurant in march 14 1969 after being stationed at f.e. warren air force base in cheyenne and serving in the united states air force during the korean war . he sold the franchise rights to james woodson and harold w. holmes who in 1969 changed the name to taco john s. born in 1919 in chariton iowa holmes s first job was as an auctioneer . he and his wife the former nona zimmerman later operated a furniture store in cheyenne and also owned holmes camper exchange which manufactured campers and travel trailers under the name of holmes on wheels and holmes equipment and supplies which produced stainless steel restaurant equipment nationwide until 2013 . james woodson born june 9 1921 in cheyenne was also an entrepreneur who had owned a cab company and then woodson realty . holmes and woodson together created woodson holmes enterprises which acquired the restaurant franchise rights from turner . the name was changed to taco john s in recognition of turner and the company name became taco john s international inc. holmes who was also a pilot died in 2012 of heart complications at the age of 92 in a hospital in phoenix arizona . 3 woodson died at the age of 87 in 2008 in scottsdale arizona . 4 while taco john s targeted smaller midwestern and western communities in its early years the chain has recently begun to open in larger metropolitan areas like denver and kansas city where they ve had a minor presence since the 1980s . 5 taco john s also operates several outlets serving the u.s. armed forces through the army and air force exchange service aafes . taco bell declined to participate . citation needed in 2004 taco john s began to partner with good times burgers & frozen custard and steak escape to open co branded restaurants . 6 7 good times taco john s combination restaurant in commerce city colorado in april 2016 the company announced a deal to open 40 new stores in new york and tennessee . the deal includes 20 stores in the new york city area and the northeast with an option for 15 more stores . 8 as of october 2016 the company had 390 restaurants spread throughout wyoming and 24 other states . 9 fare edit lunch and dinner foods edit taco john s has adopted west mex as a definition of their food and service attitude and now holds a trademark on the term . west mex food is defined by the company as being about fresh bold flavors due to the inclusion of their crisp potato nuggets branded as potato ol s see below sauces spices and salsas . breakfast menu edit some franchises offer a breakfast menu . many of the items use a combination of potato ol s eggs sausage bacon green peppers tomatoes onions and a flour tortilla . selections include four types of breakfast burritos and potatoes ole scramblers . potato ol s edit potato ol s 10 are taco john s signature item . potato ol s are round bite sized potato nuggets or crowns which are similar to tater tots but slightly smaller that are deep fried and then coated with a proprietary blend of spices and seasonings . they are available for purchase in four sizes kid small medium and large . potato ol s are also included as a filling in several different burritos beef chicken and crunchy chicken versions of its meat and potato burrito as well as their grilled burrito with the same protein options and many of the breakfast items . potato ol s are also featured in their super potato ol s platters which come in small and regular sizes and are mostly made of ol s covered in nacho cheese beef beans and other mexican ingredients . potato ol s were introduced in 1979 clarification needed and were originally cylindrical with fillings of refried beans . 11 desserts edit three items are normally on the dessert menu . these include churros a star shaped long pastry coated with cinnamon sugar cini sopapilla bites also dusted with cinnamon sugar and glazed sopapilla bites which are given a cream cheese icing . seasonal items edit during the christmas holiday season taco john s offers the apple grande a fried taco shell covered in apple pie filling cheese and a light dusting of cinnamon spice and the nachos navidad a nacho platter with red and green colored tortilla chips . jose feliciano s song feliz navidad is used in commercials and feliciano speaks of celebrating the holiday the mexican way with nachos navidad . a portion of sales from this item is donated to charity . 12 advertising edit taco john s early mascot depicted on their street signage above the words the hottest spot in town was a devil character . later mascots were versions of a cartoonish perhaps stereotypical mexican character named juan with a giant sombrero and a donkey named p p . 13 that figure was replaced in the mid 1990s by a more modern artistic image . taco john s recent advertising icons have included whiplash the cowboy monkey a popular rodeo attraction and prca entertainer of the year who rides on his dog ben to the rescue of hungry taco lovers . punk band in defence performed their song call more dudes in a taco john s as part of a tribute to the franchise . 14 wesley willis advertised taco john s in at least one of his songs . 15 in the 1990s taco john s slogan was a whole lotta mexican which accompanied a jingle that stated once we getcha then we gotcha ... . gotcha coming back for more taco john s. 2006 e. coli outbreak edit in december 2006 a reported 50 people became sick and 18 people were hospitalized after eating at a taco john s restaurant in iowa . shortly after that minnesota health officials reported that an additional 27 people became ill after eating at taco john s restaurants in rio grande city texas and grand forks north dakota . 16 on december 14 black hawk county iowa health officials stated that lettuce tainted with e. coli had been discovered in the supply chain . that same day a cedar falls couple filed a lawsuit against taco john s after their 9 year old daughter was hospitalized for symptoms of e. coli . 17 taco john s dropped its produce supplier bix produce of grand forks north dakota as a result of the outbreaks . after a thorough investigation by the minnesota department of health and the fda bix produce was cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter . the source of the outbreak was traced back to the growing fields in california . this incident came about at the same time as an unrelated e. coli outbreak at taco bell restaurants in the midwestern united states . 18 see also edit list of mexican restaurants references edit contact us . taco john s. retrieved on february 25 2010 . derdak t. 2004 . international directory of company histories . international directory of company histories . st. james press . pp. 367 369 . isbn 978 1 55862 508 2 . early history from taco stand to taco john s chain . the sprawling restaurant chain dubbed taco john s was born as a single tiny taco stand . the taco house as it was called opened in 1968 in cheyenne wyoming . it was started by a ... obituary of harold w. holmes wyoming tribune eagle february 14 2012 obituary of james f. woodson wyoming tribune eagle . fundinguniverse.com . taco john s international inc. company history . retrieved 2006 12 14 . www.tacojohns.com . taco john s opens first co branded store in cheyenne . retrieved 2007 10 14 . www.qsrmagazine.com . good times taco john s test co branding . retrieved 2007 10 14 . https www.tacojohns.com company newsroom 2016 april 2016 taco johns inks major expansion deals in new york and tennessee taco john s locations fact sheet notes from the test kitchen nachos navidad charitable giving taco john s history webcitation.org taco john s and in defence call more dudes . wesley willis documentary . leys tony 2006 12 14 . bad lettuce suspected in e. coli outbreak . des moines register . cedar falls couple files lawsuit against taco john s . kcci.com . 2006 12 14 . fda says e. coli strain traced to california dairy farms external links edit taco john s website v t e fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the united states chicken chains coffeehouse chains pizza chains hamburgers a & w back yard big boy burger king carl s jr. checkers rally s cook out fatburger five guys freddy s fuddruckers the habit hardee s in n out jack in the box 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