El Torito facts for kids
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| Industry | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1954 |
| Founder | Larry J. Cano |
| Headquarters |
United States
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El Torito is a popular American restaurant chain. Its name means "the little bull" in Spanish. This chain serves delicious Mexican food.
Most El Torito restaurants are in California. There are about 69 locations. El Torito is part of a larger group called Xperience Restaurant Group. It started way back in 1954. El Torito is known for being one of the first full-service Mexican restaurants in California.
Contents
The Story of El Torito
How It All Started
El Torito was founded in 1954 by a man named Larry J. Cano. Larry had a very interesting background. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe and Korea. After that, he earned a business degree. He also worked as a bartender.
In 1954, Larry was managing a Polynesian restaurant. The owner of that restaurant passed away. The owner's wife then gave the restaurant to Larry. Larry decided to start serving Mexican food there. This was the very first El Torito restaurant. At one point, Larry faced money problems. He even had to live inside the restaurant for a while!
Growing Bigger
Within three years, the restaurant became very successful. Larry Cano was able to open more locations. By 1976, he had 20 El Torito restaurants. He then sold his business to a company called W. R. Grace and Company. The sale was for about $20 million.
W. R. Grace and Company hired Larry to be the president. They wanted him to expand the chain even faster.
Changes Over the Years
In 1986, W. R. Grace sold its restaurants. The new company was called Restaurant Enterprises Group, Inc. (REGI). This company faced financial trouble. It had to file for bankruptcy in 1993.
In 1994, another company named Foodmaker bought REGI. Foodmaker changed its name several times. It became Family Restaurants, then Koo Koo Roo Enterprises, and finally Prandium.
In 2000, Acapulco bought El Torito from Prandium. Acapulco later changed its parent company's name to Real Mex Restaurants in 2004. They also moved their main office to Cypress, California.
Recent Times
On October 3, 2011, Real Mex Restaurants also faced financial difficulties. They filed for bankruptcy. They announced they were looking for a buyer. They said the tough economy was the reason. Luckily, they did not plan to close any restaurants or lay off staff. A group of their lenders bought the company in 2012.
In 2018, a company called FM Restaurants HoldCo, LLC bought Real Mex Restaurants. This new company started operating under the name Xperience Restaurant Group. Randy Sharpe, who used to be in charge of El Torito's operations, now leads this group. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group started making big changes. They began renovating 19 of their 31 locations in Southern California.
