Dallas

Taco Cabana Closing 19 Restaurants, Including Lower Greenville Location

Restaurants to close immediately after losing millions in 2019, company says

NBC 5 News

Taco Cabana's parent company, Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., says they are immediately shutting down 19 of their 164 restaurants in Texas, including eight in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The company said the 19 restaurants were underperforming and that while they contributed to approximately $24.5 million in earnings they also had $4.2 million in pre-tax operating losses, including $2 million in depreciation expense, in 2019.

Fiesta said the following restaurants will close immediately, including the one in Dallas along Greenville Avenue where the iconic Tango Frogs are installed on the roof. The future of the Tango Frogs is not yet known.

  • 810 W. Stacy Road, Allen
  • 1827 Greenville Avenue, Dallas
  • 2220 South Loop 288, Denton
  • 5350 Preston Road, Frisco
  • 11560 Dallas Parkway, Frisco
  • 7105 Interstate 30, Greenville
  • 1495 Precinct Line Road, Hurst
  • 5036 Rufe Snow, North Richland Hills
tango-frogs
NBC 5 News
Four of seven Tango Frogs installed on the roof of the Taco Cabana at 1827 Greenville Avenue. The huge frogs were re-installed at the location in 2014 after decades elsewhere.

The closures, the company said, eliminates all stores with significant losses and will serve to boost the group's overall portfolio. The restaurant group said nearly all employees impacted by the closures will be offered positions at other Taco Cabana locations.

Fiesta President and CEO Richard Stockinger said the move was is part of a plan to improve margins by 200 to 300 basis points for 2020 vs 2019. In addition to the closures, the plan includes efficiency initiatives at operations across food and beverage expense catagories.

"We continue to make progress on sales building initiatives across both Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana in off premise sales, including catering, online and delivery. In addition, as our new senior management team enters their first full year together, we are optimistic about improving comparable restaurant sales at both brands in 2020."

There are more closures in the Dallas area than anywhere else in the state. After the eight restaurants close there will be 38 remaining in North Texas and 145 state wide.

The other 11 locations closing around Texas are listed below.

  • 8620 Burnet Road, Austin
  • 701 Texas Avenue, College Station
  • 6522 Westheimer Road, Houston
  • 13480 Northwest Freeway, Houston
  • 9220 Gulf Freeway, Houston
  • 12518 Tomball Parkway, Houston
  • 2535 South Highway 6, Houston
  • Highway 288 and This Way Street, Lake Jackson
  • 6867 W. US Highway 90, San Antonio
  • 11701 Blanco Road, San Antonio
  • 825 S. 6th Street, Waco

After the closures, there will be 37 remaining locations in Houston, 37 in San Antonio, 24 in Austin, seven in El Paso and two in Waco/Temple/Bryan-College Station.

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