Taco Tuesday #377: Taco John’s International Records

Published April 18, 2024 at 6:00 AM MDT

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Photo of the original Taco John’s building design, 1968. Box 8, Taco John’s International records, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Photo of Taco John’s super nachos. Box 7, Taco John’s International records, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Newsletter celebrating Taco John’s billionth taco sold, June 2001. Box 6, Taco John’s International records, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Cover of a Taco John’s coloring book, 1986. Box 7, Taco John’s International records, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

If it’s Tuesday, you might be thinking of tacos for dinner. Restaurant chain Taco John’s first trademarked the phrase “Taco Tuesdays” in 1989. But the founding of Taco John’s International dates back to the 1960s.

Cheyenne natives James Woodson, Harold Holmes and John Turner had a vision for a franchise business designed to offer individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit the chance to run a fast food restaurant of their own. Harold Holmes often scouted new locations for franchises by plane. He recounted:

Taco Tuesday.mp3

Traffic has a lot to do with it, traffic pattern and really close to schools, we always like to be close to schools, we always like to be close to where trailer parks, they’re good, people come to those or close to a college, you know, where there’s a lot of college kids.

You can listen to an oral history of Taco John’s in the Taco John’s International Records at UW’s American Heritage Center.