LAKEWOOD, Calif. – Del Taco is rolling out a new look – and menu item.
The Lake Forest-based Mexican-American quick-serve restaurant has dumped its dominant red, white, green, and yellow look for a more contemporary, vibrant light green, grey, white and yellow appearance.
Last week, the company unveiled its new contemporary "Fresh-Flex" design concept in Lakewood to accentuate the chain's fresh food preparation. The Lakewood store on Del Amo Boulevard is the first in Los Angeles to be remodeled.
The company plans to redesign all of its 600 or so franchise locations nationwide, nearly half of which are in the Greater Los Angeles area.
"The whole idea is we want everyone to understand that Del Taco is very different," said Tim Hackbardt, chief marketing officer at Del Taco, in an interview with Spectrum News. "We're all about fresh prep. We make our guacamole house made from scratch. The pinto beans are made in the morning, the pico de gallo is made fresh, and we don't have pre-shredded cheddar cheese. We have blocks of cheddar that we shred each day."
"You're getting really great food here," he said.
The new design comes as Del Taco tries to keep up with the rival Joneses - its Mexican American franchise counterparts.
In the past three years, rivals Chipotle, El Pollo Loco, and Taco Bell (all of which are also headquartered in Orange County) have all gone through makeovers to incorporate new technology and a contemporary look for the 21st century.
In 2019, Chipotle began unveiling its prototype stores in Newport Beach. In 2021, El Pollo Loco and Taco Bell started redesigning all of their stores.
Each company's redesign had a common theme - a new look and implementation of new technology, which the coronavirus pandemic accelerated.
Taco Bell, Chipotle, and El Pollo Loco cited customer demand for more delivery, digital ordering, contactless pick up, and sleeker design for the remodels.
"We're competitors and friends at the same time," said Hackbardt, the Del Taco executive," said Hackbardt.
Hackbardt said Del Taco planned to redesign its stores in 2018. However, the coronavirus pandemic slowed those plans.
When the pandemic did hit, the company began plugging new technology in its stores.
"Most companies had to accelerate technology," he said. "We, fortunately, we're on the cusp of plugging everything in. We were very lucky. We scaled up on delivery, drive-thru, and mobile ordering. We were in the right place at the right time."
Hackbardt said some of the new technology coming to Del Taco stores in Southern California include multiple drive-thru lines - one specifically for mobile app orders, another for food delivery, and a third for regular customers.
Another technology Del Taco will soon be introducing is food lockers. Much like Amazon lockers, customers who order from the Del Taco mobile app can go to the store and pick up their meals for a seamless contactless experience.
Along with the redesign, Del Taco also unveiled a new menu item.
The Del Taco Tortas, which the company has been developing since 1999, is a variation of the traditional torta Mexican sandwich. Del Taco's three different torta offerings include one with carne asada and queso, chicken and bacon, and crispy chicken and guacamole inside a 7" toasted bread roll filled with other ingredients.
"We've been testing it around the country, and the reception has been great," he said.