If You're From The Pacific Northwest, You Might Have Grown Up Going To This Mexican-Style Restaurant Chain

Those of us who grew up in the Pacific Northwest have at least seen the name TacoTime — many of us went regularly. The menu takes liberties with Mexican food — the "soft tacos" are really small burritos, tater tots are called "Mexi-Fries," veggie burritos come with sunflower seeds, and, perhaps the biggest tip to its non-Mexican origins, you can add a side of ranch to your taco. It is decidedly gringo — more "Mexican-style" than Mexican.

As a vegetarian in the 1990s, I was raised on TacoTime's veggie burrito. I enjoyed the crunch and saltiness brought by the sunflower seeds. Authenticity was not a concept I was aware of. "Mexi-Fries" were clearly not an actual food I could find in Mexico. Growing up in Portland, tater tots were everywhere — it helps that they were invented by Ore-Ida, an Oregon company. 

TacoTime was founded in 1960 by Ron Fraedrick in Eugene, Oregon. Fraedrick was selling petroleum products across the West when he first encountered Mexican food in Southern California. The story, not too unlike Taco Bell's origins, where an entrepreneur eats a taco and decides he needs to bring that taste to white, middle-class Americans. He quickly pivoted from petroleum to fast food and opened up TacoTime right by the University of Oregon campus. Two years later, a friend, Frank Tonkin, Sr., opened the first franchise of TacoTime in Tacoma, Washington. Decades later, just to the north, in Portland, a burrito spot closed after calls of appropriation. Perhaps TacoTime was in the clear because it was grandfathered in, it never reached the profile of the burrito cart that got in trouble, or it never claimed any sense of authenticity. These days, the original TacoTime chain is owned by Kahala Brands, which franchises the brand across the globe, while the original franchise in Tacoma has gone in a different direction. 

Taco Time Northwest looks just like the rest of the TacoTimes — a three-pronged green cactus next to "Taco Time." If you look closely, the original TacoTime chain name is one word, while the Northwest version is two. Taco Time Northwest is independent of the brand owned by Kahala, but comes out of the franchise opened by Frank Tonkin, Sr., in Tacoma. The split came in 1979. Now, TacoTime International is based out of Scottsdale, Arizona, while the Northwest version is family-owned and operated in Renton, Washington.

The menu is similar — taquito-like crisp burritos, mini-burrito soft tacos, and ranch available on the side. In 2020, Taco Time Northwest changed the name of the Mexi-Fries to Tater-Fries in acknowledgement of the reality that nothing about the tots made them "Mexi-." I've yet to try the Northwest version, but according to commenters on Reddit, it's superior to the International version I grew up with. Hopefully, one of these days it can expand, as it's a regional chain we'd love to see grow nationally.