Start a Rusty Taco Franchise in 2025

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $523K - $1.1M

Units as of 2024: 32 8% over 3 years

Rusty Fenton, Denise Fenton, and Steve Dunn opened the doors to the first Rusty Taco location in 2010. However, the story of this eatery began way before that with the Fentons’ love for food and travel. On one of his travels to Acapulco, Mexico, Rusty took his first bite of a taco from a roadside vendor, and was sold. Rusty began to envision an eatery serving up tasty yet simple delicacies.

Rusty Taco does not claim to boast anything fancy, just lots of flavor. This eatery strives to serve up all this at an affordable price, much like buying tacos from a street vendor in Mexico. Rusty Taco hopes to make each customer feel right at home when they visit, offering food from warm chips to delicious tacos and icy margaritas.

Rusty Taco began franchising soon after opening its first location and has since opened more than 25 franchises throughout the United States.

Why You May Want To Start a Rusty Taco Franchise

If you are all about big and bold flavors served in a homey setup, then opening a Rusty Taco franchise could be a good decision for you. Franchisees are expected to have a great personality, enjoy working with people, and have a love for good food. Apart from the obvious business know-how that any businessperson should have, you may not need any other prior restaurant experience to run one of these franchises. All the training you need may be provided by Rusty Taco.

Opening a Rusty Taco franchise could offer a more predictable outcome than investing in a completely new brand that may struggle to thrive in an already crowded and competitive industry.

What Might Make a Rusty Taco Franchise a Good Choice?

Rusty Taco provides a street-taco-inspired menu that is authentic and uses fresh ingredients for flavorful yet affordable menu items. It is a restaurant that strives to offer a welcoming and approachable ambiance that could be a place where friends and families love to hang out. The food is made-to-order, unpretentious, and simple. The operations may be simple and manageable, too.

To be part of the Rusty Taco franchise team, you should make sure you’re financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company’s set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How To Open a Rusty Taco Franchise

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement with Rusty Taco, you must perform your due diligence and establish if this is the right opportunity for you. As part of your due diligence, you may want to speak to existing franchisees and ask the franchising team questions.

If awarded a franchise, franchisees may receive a great deal of support from the Rusty Taco brand throughout the franchising process. In addition to pre-opening training, franchisees receive support through brand awareness, marketing, research, and construction.

Company Overview

About Rusty Taco

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Mexican Food
Founded	2010
Parent Company	Gala Capital Partners
Leadership	Daniel Smith, President
Corporate Address	3191 Red Hill Ave., #200 Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2010 (15 years)
# of employees at HQ	50
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US.
# of Units	32 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Rusty Taco franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$25,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$523,400 - $1,120,950
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$500,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	50% off franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	5%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	1%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Rusty Taco has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	144-172 hours
Classroom Training	16-28 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	20
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes