Taco Time NW

Taco Time NW, also known as Taco Time Northwest, is a family-owned quick-service Mexican restaurant brand serving Western Washington. Frank Tonkin Sr. opened its first restaurant in White Center in 1962, aiming to pair quick service with quality food and caring hospitality. The company describes its approach as making quality food, treating people well, and supporting the communities where guests and team members live and work. The brand says it has 77 restaurants throughout Western Washington and describes itself as a Pacific Northwest institution with a fourth-generation Tonkin family legacy. Its menu is Mexican food, prepared with an emphasis on freshness and care; the company highlights its use of 100% all-white chicken as a menu option. Its original White Center location remains open, with upgrades, according to the brand. Taco Time NW is distinct from the wider Taco Time brand. The company states that it is wholly independent from Kahala Corporation, which owns Taco Time rights outside Western Washington. It notes an exception for Taco Time restaurants in Wenatchee, with which it says it has no affiliation. The company also emphasizes regional identity and community investment. Its website promotes a Washington guide created with local recommendations and menu favorites, and says it matches 100% of its restaurant system’s electricity consumption with Pacific Northwest renewable energy. It reports that 98% of dining-room waste is compostable and that its composting initiatives began in 2012. The brand remains active and family-owned.

Taco Time NW traces its history to 1962, when Frank Tonkin Sr. opened the first Taco Time Northwest restaurant in White Center, Washington. The founding idea was that quick-service dining did not have to mean low-quality food. The company says Tonkin sought to build a leader in quick-service Mexican restaurants by serving quality food and relying on caring people who made an effort to exceed customer expectations. The original White Center location continues to operate, with upgrades. A notable early development was the opening of the brand’s first drive-thru in 1978. The company describes this as an innovation at a time when drive-thru service was not yet commonplace in quick-service restaurants. Taco Time NW later added 100% all-white chicken as a menu option, which it says was among the first such offerings and has since become standard across its menu. In 2005, the company opened what it identifies as its 75th restaurant, in Sequim. The brand’s story presents this growth as part of its expansion across Western Washington. It now reports 77 restaurants in the region and describes its continuing operation as a fourth-generation Tonkin family legacy. The company’s environmental efforts include composting initiatives begun in 2012. It reports that 98% of waste from its dining rooms is compostable and that it matches 100% of its restaurant system’s electrical consumption with Pacific Northwest renewable energy. These commitments accompany a broader emphasis on investing in communities where its guests and team members live and work. Taco Time NW also distinguishes itself from other Taco Time businesses through its ownership and territory. It states that it is wholly independent from Kahala Corporation, which owns Taco Time rights outside Western Washington. The company makes a specific exception for Taco Time restaurants in Wenatchee, saying it has no affiliation with them. Today, Taco Time NW remains a family-owned regional restaurant brand, presenting quality food, hospitality, community ties, and Pacific Northwest identity as central parts of its business.

• 2012

  Composting initiatives begin

• 2005

  75th restaurant opens in Sequim

• 1978

  First drive-thru opens

• 1962

  First restaurant opens in White Center

A locally rooted, family-owned Pacific Northwest quick-service Mexican restaurant brand focused on quality food, caring service, community investment, and regional identity.

• Quick-service Mexican food

  The restaurant brand’s core offering, described as fresh Mexican food made with care.

• All-white chicken menu option

  The company says it was among the first to introduce 100% all-white chicken as a menu option.

1. 1TacoTimeNWtacotimenw.com
2. 2Our Story - TacoTimeNWtacotimenw.com