The Original Del Taco

On a dusty road in the tiny town of Yermo California, stands the adorable rickety remnants of the very first Del Taco Taco stand.

Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson opened the first Del Taco on September 16th in 1964. Legend has it they were an instant success and sold 900 tacos on their first day of business. (that’s a lot of tacos!)

Their immediate popularity led to more stores and pretty soon they had a chain! (These days, the Barstow Del Taco, also opened in the 1960’s is the only family owned Del Taco that remains. In the early 2000’s the rest of the Del Taco chain was sold to Jack in the Box)

The Yermo location, with its walk-up window, has hardly changed since 1964. A covered shade area has been added to the front of the store, but the building remains the same. There is a beautiful hand painted sign above the building recognizing its historical significance to taco lovers across the globe.

Brilliantly, even though it looks kind of abandoned, a fast-food business still operates from this adorable vintage location with hamburgers coming out of the service window instead of tacos.

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Southern California No.182 -last visited June 2023