Taco John's history

After 1985, Turner created his own line of chips and salsa.

1989: The Taco John's chain consists of about 400 units, generating annual sales of nearly $150 million.

At the same time, Taco John's was named by Dow Jones's National Business Employment Weekly as one of the best franchise buys in the country. For example, to confront increased competition, the company stepped up its advertising efforts, introducing the new tag line, "More than you imagined," in the fall of 1991, and began working more closely with franchisees to develop multimedia campaigns.

Taco John’s nacho chips, for example, were made fresh in each store, daily. “We’ll leave it to the other guys to sell the bite-sized items,” said Taco John’s president, Pieter Roelofs, in the March 14, 1994 Des Moines Register.

Cheyenne, Wyo.: Taco John’s International, 1996.

Paul Fisherkeller became president and CEO of Taco John's International in 1997.

Another important development at Taco John's came in 1999, when Brian Osborn was brought onboard as the chain's first executive chef.

Fisherkeller told QSR magazine in November 2000 that when he took the job he found that Taco John's was "the most un-chain-like chain [I'd] ever seen.

In May 2001 Taco John's marked the sale of its billionth taco.

Systemwide sales, however, did increase, reaching around $200 million by 2003.

In March 2004 Good Times Restaurants Inc. entered into an agreement with Taco John's to develop a cobranded test store in Cheyenne that would include both a Taco John's and a Good Time Burgers & Frozen Custard outlet.