Taco Rico / Taco Works
Formerly known as Taco Republic
Bottom line
- Total investment $155K – $341K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year. Estimated payback in 0.9 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 50/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Taco Rico / Taco Works unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
99%
Above typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Taco Rico / Taco Works units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
33.4%
4.23× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.42×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$5.9M
on $15.6M purchase
Total debt
$9.7M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Taco Rico/Taco Works franchisees operate fast-casual Mexican food restaurants serving tacos, burritos, and related items. Daily operations include food preparation, inventory management, customer service, and point-of-sale management in a limited-service format with dine-in and/or takeout options.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage, rapidly growing franchise with unverified financials, no going concern assurance, and insufficient unit history to validate ROI claims.
Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability or operational uncertainty at franchisor level
- 02MEDSmall unit count (8 locations) with only 50% YoY growth suggests nascent/unproven system with limited track record
- 03MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representation disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $1.56M avg revenue or $270K avg net income
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($154.8K–$340.8K) against small unit sample creates validation risk
- 05MINORRapid growth trajectory (50% YoY) may not be sustainable and could mask underlying operational or financial stress
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
17 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Taco Rico / Taco Works · FDD (2025) PDF