Taco John's Int'l. Inc.

Founded: 1968 Franchising since: 1969
The story of Taco John's sounds more like a legend than the history of a business. In Cheyenne, Wyoming, a man named Juan opened a tiny taco house, serving uniquely seasoned and generously sized tacos and burritos. An immediate hit with the locals, the taco house was quickly purchased by local businessmen Harold Holmes and Jim Woodson in 1969. Renamed Taco John's, it began selling franchises right away and now has restaurants across America. The privately held company is still based in Cheyenne.

808 W. 20th St. Cheyenne, Wyoming 82003

Phone: (800)854-0819 Franchisee Association Association of Taco John's Franchisees Inc.

Franchisor is a privately-held company with 60 employee(s); 2 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2008	409	0	0	9
2007	419	0	0	10
2006	410	0	0	10
2005	--	--	--	--

Where Seeking Franchisees

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 20,000 population

Total investment: $627K-1.1M+ Franchise fee: $25K

Ongoing royalty fee: 4% Term of agreement: 20 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	Yes
Inventory	No	Yes
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Third-party financing source(s): GE Capital

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $400K
Cash liquidity requirement: $150K
Business Experience:

• Industry experience
• General business experience

Operations

• 37% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15
• Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (75% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 4-5 weeks
• At franchisee's location: 1 week

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks

Franchise 500® rank:
#152 (2009);