Ulyses Camacho, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Armando Flores, Senior Director of Procurement and Supply Chain, at Taco Cabana, celebrate their company’s unique history whilst sharing their future plans.
company steeped in history, the popular Mexicaninspired restaurant chain is celebrating its 45th anniversary in September, having opened its first location in San Antonio, Texas back in 1978. Taco Cabana’s headquarters continue to run out of San Antonio, with six of the franchise restaurants having opened in the nearby state of New Mexico. Further growth
outside of Texas is planned for the future.
So, what’s on the menu at Taco Cabana? Ulyses Camacho, President and COO at Taco Cabana, enthuses, “We have been in the food business for 45 years and we’re known for our innovation across a variety of culinary categories including fajita meals, flautas, Cabana Bowls® and breakfast, lunch and dinner tacos.
IF YOU HAVE BEEN TO TEXAS OR NEW MEXICO, USA, IT IS LIKELY YOU WILL HAVE EATEN
“We serve our tacos on a special flour tortilla made in-restaurant throughout the day, as well as a number of rotating desserts. For the breakfast segment, we sell our dozen breakfast taco boxes, which are very popular and some of our best-sellers. Every location has a full liquor license and a drive-thru. We are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner – with some locations
in-restaurant salsa bar and many of our competitors have since executed the same idea. Most recently, we have become known for our expanded line of margarita flavours. During Covid, we became the largest purchaser of tequila in the state of Texas. In the last two years, we have also launched new innovative culinary items such as our guacamole bites, chocolate
Ulyses Camacho, President and Chief Operating Officeroffering late-night openings. We are famous for our margaritas!”
Ulyses believes it is critical to continue to innovate within the food industry in order to stay relevant when leading a 45 yearold brand. He continues, “We pioneered innovative Mexicaninspired cuisine. We developed the original concept for a fast-casual
chimichangas and double crunch pizzas.”
Taco Cabana’s very strong position when it comes to innovation is due in a large part to its continued focus on research and development and the use of quality ingredients. Ulyses says, “We have a broad TC team working with our chefs on R&D, composed of quality
“WE HAVE BEEN IN THE FOOD BUSINESS FOR 45 YEARS AND WE’RE KNOWN FOR OUR INNOVATION ACROSS A VARIETY OF CULINARY CATEGORIES INCLUDING FAJITA MEALS, FLAUTAS, CABANA BOWLS® AND BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER TACOS”
assurance, marketing and training. Our yearly promotional calendar is built with innovative new items, including limitedtime offers, which may or may not repeat each year and permanent items balanced with our core items. We like to keep it fresh and new as often as we can do so!”
Like any other food business, Taco Cabana had to contend with restaurant closures, staffing issues and Covid protocols during the recent pandemic. But a new law that was passed allowing alcoholic drinks to be served to-go helped to put the company in a better position.
Ulyses explains, “Taco Cabana jumped on the initiative to serve takeaway alcoholic drinks. We have drive-thrus in every location, so we had the ability to serve alcohol to-go in Texas when our competitors did not have
“I BELIEVE RELATIONSHIPS ARE BASED ON COMMUNICATION FROM TOP TO BOTTOM ACROSS THE ORGANISATION, AS WELL AS LATERALLY ACROSS DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. WORKING THROUGH YOUR CHALLENGES TOGETHER AS A TEAM IS KEY”
Armando Flores, Senior Director of Procurement and Supply Chain
that ability, and thus, could not compete. We are still dealing with some of the aftermath of Covid, but I think everything we do that touches our guests and operations now runs through three important filters.”
The filters for Taco Cabana’s strategy post-Covid include:
1. OPTIMISATION
2. SIMPLIFICATION
3. CONSISTENCY
Armando Flores, Senior Director of Procurement and Supply Chain, at Taco Cabana, reflects, “Our ability to serve a highquality margarita containing real tequila rather than a sugarbased alcohol added to the value we brought to our guests during Covid. We provided quality margaritas at two dollars each at
a time when the economics were up and down. It was a really good deal for people who might have needed to stretch their dollar a little further.”
On the purchasing side, Ulyses highlights that you must have consistency with the products you ship to the restaurants. When a lot of suppliers were uncertain about the stability of their customers during Covid, Taco Cabana was able to continue to buy from its suppliers when the restaurant dining rooms were closed, given its drive-thru and delivery opportunities. Armando says, “If you look upstream through our supply chain, we were keeping manufacturers going and people employed in the state of Texas. I stand firm that a resilient supply chain is the backbone to any successful business. If we don’t
“FOUR OF TACO CABANA’S TRUSTED PARTNERS INCLUDE MARTIN FOODS, KERRY, TAYLOR FARMS AND DEEN MEAT. THEY PROVIDE KEY MENU ITEMS THAT WE SERVE EVERY DAY AND WE WOULD NOT BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT THEIR PRODUCTS”
For nearly 80 years, Martin Foods has made a name in the protein industry by producing flavourful, custom-designed, value-added solutions.
We’re a family-owned company with humble roots, and we’ve proudly earned our place as an industry leader within the protein manufacturing supply chain.
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That’s what Martin Foods is about, that is what friends are for.
We are proud to be Taco Cabana’s supplier partner for over the last 10 Years!
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have a reliable flow of goods into our restaurants, we are unable to properly serve our guests.”
Taco Cabana forms strategic partnerships with key suppliers
to build essential relationships. Armando explains, “I believe relationships are based on communication from top to bottom across the organisation, as well as laterally across different
“HAVING THE CORRECT PRODUCT AT THE AGREED PRICE ARRIVING ON TIME WHEN YOU NEED IT IS THE CORE OF ANY SUPPLY CHAIN”
departments. Working through your challenges together as a team is key. Supply chain is a relationship business. The stronger the bond with a supplier, the more valuable it will be in times of need. If you have built a close relationship, you will be in a better position if a crisis should happen.”
Cost is fundamental, but Armando emphasises the importance of having trust and accountability as far as a company’s partners are concerned. He elaborates, “Having the correct product at the agreed price arriving on time when you need it is the core of any
“THE STRONGER THE BOND WITH A SUPPLIER, THE MORE VALUABLE IT WILL BE IN TIMES OF NEED”
supply chain. We trust all of our supplier partners to deliver on this commitment and to be accountable for when it is not fully executed. It is also about striking a balance between cost and service to ultimately create value as a partner. Having creative thinking is a must otherwise you will be left behind.”
Four of Taco Cabana’s trusted partners include Martin Foods, KERRY, Taylor Farms and Deen Meat. Armando adds, “They provide key menu items that we serve every day and we would not be successful without their products. Between the four of them, they cover a very important section of our menu. They go above and beyond and really see the value in what we are doing. We enjoy very strong relationships with all of these partners.”
Armando says the company is planning an increased focus on digitalisation in the coming months. He continues, “Digitalisation plays a huge
role in real-time inventory, distribution, credit visibility and invoice auditing to name a few areas. We see opportunities for improvement by having complete visibility of these complementary functions. We are making digitalisation a priority for our future project roadmap.”
Sustainability is another pillar that Armando believes companies cannot afford to overlook. He explains, “We are constantly reviewing the innovations around packaging. Outside of the state of Texas, we are becoming more aware of the ever-changing laws when it comes to sustainable packaging. We know it is reality, and we may be a bit behind, but we are making efforts to prepare for franchising outside Texas because of our plans for growth. We are working on a number of exciting projects at the moment.”
So, what are Ulyses, Armando and their teams focusing on for the remainder of 2023? Ulyses answers, “Taco Cabana was a
“DIGITALISATION PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN REAL-TIME INVENTORY, DISTRIBUTION, CREDIT VISIBILITY AND INVOICE AUDITING TO NAME A FEW AREAS”
A proud partner of
To learn more please scan
Deen Meat and Cooked Foods, a proud supplier partner of Taco Cabana Restaurants
Deen Meat & Cooked Foods produces high-quality and consistent products tailored to the needs of our customers. Since 1946, our reputation has been built on our family-oriented culture, commitment to food safety and exceptional customer service.
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public company for many, many years prior to its acquisition 18 months ago. Going from a public to a private company requires a lot of heavy lifting. We started by completely rebuilding our San Antonio corporate headquarters to be ready to operate independently. It took some time, but we are now ready to grow organically, as well as in franchise form.
“On the organic growth side, we have confirmed two additional sites in Texas. Those two sites are going to be built under our new prototype while the company will continue to look for other sites. We are also building our franchise structure because we are planning to start our franchise programme later this year. In addition, we will continue with our same strategy to stay true to our Mexican-inspired roots.”
For further information on Taco Cabana, visit www.tacocabana.com
www.tacocabana.com