{{short description|Mexican restaurant chain in Texas and Nuevo León}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox company | name = Taco Palenque | logo = Taco palenque logo 1.png | type = Privately held company | slogan = | founded = {{start date and age|1987|}} | location = [[Laredo, Texas]] | key_people = | industry = [[Fast casual]] | products = [[Mexican food]] | revenue = | founder = Juan Francisco Ochoa (Pancho Ochoa) | locations = 42 (39 in Texas, 3 in Mexico) | area_served = [[Texas]], [[Nuevo León]] | homepage = {{URL|tacopalenque.com}} }}
'''Taco Palenque''' is a [[Mexican cuisine]] restaurant chain in the U.S. state of [[Texas]] and the Mexican state of [[Nuevo León]]. The restaurant is headquartered in [[Laredo, Texas]] and was established in 1987. The restaurant's main dishes are the flame-grilled beef or chicken [[Fajita|fajita plate]], parrillada, pirata taco, panchos drizzled with beans and cheese on top of [[tortilla chips]], homemade desserts, and [[breakfast tacos]]. Taco Palenque's salad bar has more than seven different homemade [[salsa (food)|salsas]].
==History== <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Taco Palenque Fajita Plate.jpg|thumbnail| Taco Palenque's beef fajita plate]] --> <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:First Taco Palenque.jpg|thumbnail|First Taco Palenque in [[Laredo, Texas]]]] --> Taco Palenque was founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa (who goes by "Pancho") from Sinaloa, Mexico.<ref name="LaredoSun">{{cite news |last=Aguirre |first=Laura |title=Entrepreneur of the Year is Named |newspaper=[[Laredo Sun]] |date=8 July 2011 |url=http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=17126 |access-date=16 July 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130717084736/http://www.laredosun.us/notas.asp?id=17126 |archive-date=17 July 2013 }}</ref> Ochoa was also the creator of the [[El Pollo Loco]] secret chicken recipe and founder of the Grilled chicken concept.<ref name="LaredoSun"/> [[Monterrey]] where he planned to create a Mexican fastfood chain in the [[United States]] with drive thrus that served authentic Mexican food. In 1987, Ochoa opened Taco Palenque in Laredo, Texas. The chain expanded to [[McAllen]] in 1998, [[Brownsville, Texas|Brownsville]] in 2019, [[San Antonio]] in 2019, [[Nuevo Laredo]], [[Mexico]] in 2020, [[Houston, Texas]] in 2020, [[Mission, Texas]], [[Cotulla, Texas]] in 2022, Weslaco, Texas in 2022 and, [[Round Rock, Texas]] in 2021. In 2022 Palenque grill was established.<ref name="LaredoSun"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://palenquegrill.com/story/ |title=Our Story |publisher=Palenque Grill |date=<!--undated--> |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.houstonpress.com/2010-12-30/restaurants/taco-palenque/ |title=Taco Palenque |newspaper=[[Houston Press]] |date= December 29, 2022 |first=Paul |last=Galvani}}</ref>
Currently, Taco Palenque expanded his restaurants to Mexico & there are 3 locations in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
==Subsidiaries== ===Palenque Grill=== Palenque Grill is a subsidiary of Taco Palenque. Palenque Grill was established in 2005 with the opening of its first restaurant in Laredo. unlike Taco Palenque, Palenque Grill is a [[casual dining]] table-service restaurant that features premium ingredients, margaritas, parrilladas, appetizers and desserts. These restaurants are higher-end than the regular Taco Palenque.
A second location was opened in McAllen in 2006. This was followed by the opening of a third location in San Antonio in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio/happy-hour-hound-seriously-cheap-drinks-and-addictive-snacks-at-palenque-grill/Content?oid=2250660 |title=Happy Hour Hound: Seriously cheap drinks and addictive snacks at Palenque Grill |first=Miriam |last=Sitz |newspaper=[[San Antonio Current]] |date=March 11, 2014}}</ref> A second Laredo location, fourth in the chain, was open in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sacurrent.com/Flavor/archives/2016/01/13/palenque-grill-opens-second-sa-location |title=Palenque Grill Opens Second SA Location |first=Jessica |last=Elizarraras |date=January 13, 2016 |newspaper=[[San Antonio Current]]}}</ref> A fifth location was open in Edinburg in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://texasborderbusiness.com/un-rinconcito-de-mexico-arrives-in-edinburg/ |title="Un Rinconcito de México" arrives in Edinburg |date=December 18, 2019 |work=Texas Border Business}}</ref>
The official slogan for Palenque Grill is "Un Rinconcito de Mexico" which means "A little corner of Mexico." A 2012 restaurant review in the [[San Antonio Express-News]] gave the Palenque Grill four out of a possible five stars and called the restaurant "a good choice for a visit".<ref name=saen-2012feb21>{{cite news |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/life/food/restaurants/article/Review-Palenque-Grill-3337496.php |title=Review - Palenque Grill |newspaper=[[San Antonio Express-News]] |date=February 21, 2012 |first=Edmund |last=Tijerina}}</ref>
===Pollo Palenque=== Pollo Palenque (formally named Pollo Tori) is another subsidiary of Taco Palenque. Pollo Palenque is a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in Mexican grilled chicken. The restaurant's main dish is [[pollo asado]], a grilled marinated chicken. The meal is usually served with salsa, [[totopo]]s and tortillas. The restaurant is currently only located on the border. It is located in [[Laredo, Texas]], the [[Lower Rio Grande Valley|Rio Grande Valley]] and a new location in Corpus Christi.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}
== See also == * [[El Pollo Loco]] * [[List of Mexican restaurants]] *[[List of Texas companies#T|List of Texas companies (T)]]
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == * [http://tacopalenque.com/ Taco Palenque Official Page] * [http://www.palenquegrill.com/ Palenque Grill Official Page]
{{Laredo, Texas}} {{Establishments serving chicken}}
[[Category:Companies based in Laredo, Texas]] [[Category:Restaurants in Texas]] [[Category:Mexican restaurants in Mexico]] [[Category:Restaurants established in 1987]] [[Category:1987 establishments in Texas]] [[Category:Mexican restaurants in Texas]]