Original Del Taco

The first Del Taco wasn’t called Del Taco. Well, not exactly. It was Casa Del Taco. The first Del Taco isn’t called Del Taco now. It’s Tita’s Burger Den. But its history goes back to Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson, who opened the fast-food restaurant in Yermo, about 14 miles east of Barstow, in 1964. With a menu of 19¢ tacos, tostadas, fries and 24¢ cheeseburgers, they brought in $169 in sales on the first day in business – the equivalent of 900 tacos. Success of the first restaurant led to two in Barstow, one in Needles, and a fifth in Corona (the first Del Taco with a drive-through window) before they joined forces with Dick Naugle in 1966 to found Red-E-Food Systems, Inc., with the idea of franchising the Del Taco brand. The second Del Taco location, opened in 1964 in Barstow, is still open.

Yermo, San Bernardino County
Photographer: Jim Albert