Pup 'N' Taco
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pup 'N' Taco (also spelled with a lower case 'n') was a privately-owned chain of fast-food restaurants in Southern California, with its headquarters based in Long Beach, California. The business was begun by Russell Wendell in 1956. At that time, it was only a drive-in restaurant that served tacos and hot dogs, without the name. Russell was riding a wave of successful doughnut stores around Los Angeles (Big DoNut) that featured gigantic doughnuts on top of a drive-in bakery. The first officially branded Pup 'N' Taco was opened in Pasadena, California in 1965.
The menu consisted of tacos, tostadas, pastrami sandwiches, burgers, several varieties of hot dog (thus, the "pup" in Pup 'N' Taco), and french fries. Beverages included R.C. Cola, root beer and a variety of flavored slushes.
Ninety-nine stores were bought by Taco Bell in 1984, effectively ending the history of the chain. However, three operations in Albuquerque, New Mexico were not included in the deal, and at least one still exists today as Pop 'N' Taco.
[edit] Trivia
In the 1985 comedy Fletch, starring Chevy Chase, Chase's character enters Alan Stanwyk's home and greets the Hispanic maid by saying Pup 'N' Taco. He greets several Hispanic people throughout the movie by saying the names of Hispanic places or using mock-Spanish.
