Texas-based Taco Cabana sold to California company

ADDISON, Texas – The Texas parent company of Taco Cabana has announced that it will sell the brand to a major restaurant operator out of California, ABC affiliate KSAT reported.

Addison-based Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. sold the chain to YTC Enterprises, LLC, an affiliate of Yadav Enterprises, Inc., for $85 million in cash. The transaction will close by the end of the third quarter.

Yadav Enterprises, Inc. operates nearly 400 restaurants in 18 states, including Texas, and is the largest Jack In The Box franchisee.

The company also franchises Denny’s, TGI Friday’s, El Pollo Loco and Corner Bakery Cafe locations.

Richard Stockinger, the president and CEO of Fiesta, said the restaurant group sold Taco Cabana to focus on its sister brand, Pollo Tropical.

“We made the strategic decision to sell the Taco Cabana business to allow our leadership team to focus completely on accelerating Pollo growth, and we are very excited about the tremendous growth opportunities we have for the Pollo Tropical business,” he said in a news release.

The sale will repay $74.6 million worth of debt for Fiesta and $4.6 million in fees, the release states.

Fiesta’s cash balance of $67.6 million will now be used in part toward the growth of Pollo Tropical, and in part toward “potential future stock repurchases.”

Taco Cabana was founded in 1978 by Felix Stehling in San Antonio.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Stehling took it public in 1992 and it sold in 2000.

As of June 1, Texas Cabana has 142 company-owned restaurants in Texas. There are also six franchised locations in New Mexico.

Stockinger added that Anil Yadav, the CEO of Yadav Enterprises, “has an impressive entrepreneurial background and is a highly-respected restaurant operator.”

“We are confident he will be an effective steward of the Taco Cabana brand for the long-term.”