Del Taco’s founder Ed Hackbarth visited Riverside on Saturday, March 29, for the launch of a test throwback menu in one of the chain’s earliest restaurants.Hackbarth, 91, was part of the Inland Empire’s fast food renaissance of the 1950s and ’60s along with Richard and Maurice McDonald, who opened the first McDonald’s in San Bernardino in 1948, Neal Baker of Baker’s Drive Thru and Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell.SEE ALSO: These fast food giants were born in Southern CaliforniaHackbarth, in fact, was mentored by Bell, who was running hot dog stands in the 1950s while trying to get his dream of a taco empire off the ground.
Hackbarth opened the first Del Taco in Yermo in 1961, followed by another in Barstow. He sold the company in 1976 but kept three restaurants in Barstow, which serve early menu items such as Bun Tacos, even though they dropped off the chain’s menu.He lives in Dana Point and keeps in touch with Del Taco, which is based in Lake Forest.
The chain decided it was time to revisit Hackbarth’s original Barstow menu as well as items from Naugles, a fondly remembered 1970s chain that was founded at 14th Street and Brockton Avenue in Riverside and later acquired by Del Taco.The “Classic Menu” is being tested alongside Del Taco’s regular menu at 6333 Riverside Ave., near Central Avenue and Riverside Plaza, which Hackbart said is franchise restaurant No.
1.It includes the Bun Taco; a Taco Salad; a Combo Cup with beef, beans and cheese; a Bean & Cheese .
