Operations

Taco John's accelerates expansion, growth, investments

Photo: Taco John's

February 25, 2026

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Taco John's has entered the new year with renewed momentum after a year of disciplined growth, operational investment and continued franchisee collaboration, according to a press release.

Key systemwide initiatives in 2025 included:

• Appointment of Jackie Secor as chief operating officer and Tom Perella as VP of technology, bringing seasoned operational and IT leadership to fuel systemwide growth.
• Enhanced operations scorecards and expanded reporting visibility for franchisees.
• Launch of a turnkey new restaurant opening process to streamline development.
• Deliberate development pipeline tracking and performance analytics to capitalize on market development potential.
• Expanded franchisee support, succession planning and ongoing systemwide communication.
• Continued adoption and beta testing of advanced technology, including cloud-based POS, AI-driven tools, and alternative ordering platforms.
• Accelerated menu innovation led by Corporate Chef and Director of Menu Innovation Brad Bergaus including creative partnerships with 5-hour Energy and compelling, flavor-forward, limited time offers.

"Over the past year, we made intentional investments to strengthen Taco John's foundation for long-term, sustainable growth," Heather Neary, president and CEO of Taco John's, said in the press release. "From enhancing operational leadership to earning national recognition for our franchise opportunity, we are building a more efficient, data-driven and franchisee-focused brand ready to scale with the right partners."

In the brand's next phase, franchisees will benefit from optimized menus tailored for smaller footprints, simplified labor and production models, performance standards designed for high-traffic environments and targeted marketing strategies for non-traditional locations. This scaled-footprint strategy opens the door to high-demand locations with lower capital investment while complementing Taco John's traditional development pipeline.

Priorities in 2026 include refining and scaling the nontraditional development model, value-engineering the traditional restaurant model to improve capital efficiency, expanding tools and systems that enable data-driven decision-making and supporting thoughtful reinvestment and succession planning across the system.

Taco John's has more than 325 locations across 21 states. Read our feature about the one billion Potato Olés the brand serves HERE.