Del Taco (Original)
The first Del Taco opened in Yermo, California, in 1964, when Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson tried a bold fast-food idea in a small desert town east of Barstow. The early menu was simple and inexpensive: 19-cent tacos, tostadas, fries, and 24-cent cheeseburgers. On its first day, the restaurant brought in $169, which Del Taco describes as the equivalent of about 900 tacos.
That small beginning is what gives the Yermo site its interest. This was not a polished corporate launch in a major city. It was a roadside desert venture, located along the travel corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas. The idea fit the road: quick food, low prices, and a menu that mixed Mexican-style items with American fast-food staples.
Local Del Taco history sources identify the first restaurant site as 38434 W. Yermo Road in Yermo. The Barstow "Original Del Taco" history also notes that Hackbarth retained rights to the Barstow Del Taco stores after the chain was sold in the 1970s.
The original Yermo restaurant is also remembered under the name Casa Del Taco, and local landmark sources note that the building later became Tita's Burger Den. From that modest desert start, Del Taco expanded to Barstow, Needles, Corona, and eventually far beyond the Mojave Desert.
Del Taco's beginning in Yermo is a good example of Mojave roadside entrepreneurship. Like gas stations, cafes, motels, and repair shops, the first Del Taco grew out of the needs of travelers crossing the desert. What began as a small roadside food stand became a national fast-food chain, but its origin belongs to Yermo and the Barstow-area travel corridor.