Technology
Taco John's partners with Bikky
November 24, 2025
Taco John's has partnered with Bikky, a customer data platform for multi-unit restaurants, according to a press release.
Taco John's started as a taco stand in Cheyenne, WY, in the mid-1960s. The franchise rights were bought in 1969, and restaurants began opening in the Midwest.
While many Taco John's restaurants are run by long-term franchisees, operators lacked an easy way to access up-to-date guest information. Decisions were made based on historic knowledge and instinct instead of data.
"We have franchisees that have been with us for 50 years and they know the brand extremely well," Kevin Flaherty, CMO at Taco John's. "But as times change, we have to evolve alongside our guests."
Leadership partnered with Bikky to create a single source of truth for guest behavior and use data for strategic decision-making.
"The biggest thing we're doing with Bikky is removing the emotion from discussions about the brand" added Flaherty.
Bikky's guest and menu analytics showed that many locations serve more new guests than operators had expected. This finding impacted the acquisition strategy.
"How well we know our guests impacts how we bring new folks into our restaurants," says Flaherty. "Bikky has been super helpful in breaking down ideas that are thought of as truth, but weren't backed up by the data."
Menu analytics from Bikky highlighted which limited-time offers (LTOs) were effective. For example, when a fish taco LTO was considered for removal, Bikky's data showed it was a strong driver of new guests, and the promotion continued.
"We're trying to reinvent our menu from a quality equation," said Flaherty. "Now we have visibility into which items don't bring guests back and which do."
Taco John's now uses Bikky for a unified view of guest behavior and common metrics for decision-making across teams.
"We needed a shared language around what is working and what's not working," said Flaherty. "Guests, as defined by Bikky, is a really great definition of what truly matters," says Flaherty. "And it's a metric that's understood and works across the organization."
The brand is focused on profitable traffic, menu improvement, and LTO strategy.
"Taco John's represents the best of what happens when a beloved, long-standing brand combines deep operational expertise with modern guest intelligence," Abhinav Kapur, CEO of Bikky, said in the press release. "They have franchisees who've been with the brand for decades—an incredible foundation of knowledge and passion. What sets them apart is their proactive approach to evolution, using data not to replace that expertise but to enhance it. This is the kind of partnership that excites us—working with brands that have staying power and are committed to using guest insights to drive their next chapter of growth."
