The parent company of Taco Cabana has closed 19 locations, all in Texas.
According to a release, Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc., Taco Cabana's parent company, closed 19 Taco Cabana restaurants in Texas, effective immediately. Nearly all employees impacted by the closures will be offered positions at other Taco Cabana locations.
Stores in the Dallas area that closed included the key location on Lower Greenville, as follows:
- 1827 Greenville Ave., Dallas
- 810 Stacy Rd., Allen
- 5650 Preston Rd., Frisco
- 11560 Dallas Pkwy., Frisco
The two closures in Frisco mean that there is no longer a Taco Cabana presence in Frisco.
The closure of the Greenville Avenue location is meaningful not only for the loss of Taco Cabana's great $4 margaritas, but also the imperiled status of the famed "Tango Frogs," a colorful sculpture from larger-than-life artist Bob "Daddy-O" Wade, who recently passed away.
The frogs were originally a fixture on top of the building when it was an '80s nightclub called Tango's. Tim Taft, former CEO of Fiesta Restaurant Group, and Todd Coerver, former COO of Taco Cabana, recovered three of the original six frogs from a truck stop and reinstalled them atop the restaurant with great fanfare in 2014. (The other three are at a Chuy's in Nashville.)
Rachel Wade, daughter of the artist, says that as far as she knows, the frogs still belong to Taco Cabana. A TC spokesperson said he was looking into their status.
"The frogs have been hopping from roof to roof from the beginning, I'm sure they will land on their feet again," Wade says.
Three other stores closed in the DFW area including:
- 2220 South Loop 288, Denton
- 5036 Rufe Snow, North Richland Hills
- 1495 Precinct Line Rd., Hurst
There were also closures in Austin, Waco, Houston, and San Antonio.
Fiesta President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Stockinger said in a statement that the closures were part of a plan to improve the bottom line, and that the stores they closed were "underperforming."
"These closures eliminate all stores with significant losses, which we expect will result in a highly viable portfolio of restaurants," Stockinger said.
Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. is also the parent company of Pollo Tropical.
"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," he said. "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."
