In the 1970s and ’80s, Taco Tico was the place for Mexican food in central Indiana. Fans flocked there to devour burritos, sanchos, and enchiladas by the thousands! Unfortunately, its glory was fleeting. More than forty years have passed since the chain closed in my city, but a successor in Terre Haute called Taco Casita still serves up a slate of beloved favorites.
The Taco Tico story began around 1960. Dan and Robin Foley joined their cousins, Richard and Mike, at their chain of fast-food Mexican restaurants called Taco Grande. Two years later, Dan and Robin set out on their own and opened the first Taco Tico in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas1. The company began franchising new restaurants in 1967 and made its way to Central Indiana in the early 1970s2.
A whole new fanbase flung themselves into love affairs with burritos and empanadas as Dan Pipkins’ Indiana3 Restaurants Group4 expanded the chain into Indianapolis, Anderson, Bloomington, Kokomo, Lafayette, Muncie, and Terre Haute. Each $50,000 restaurant sat up to seventy-five guests and featured Spanish decor with a full menu of Mexican-inspired dishes. Diners could enjoy their meals in-house, grab them to-go, or opt for the convenience of the drive-through.
“Come into Taco Tico today and play Taco Tico Bingo,” screamed 1978 newspaper ads. “It’s easy!” A winning Taco Tico bingo card meant the customer got a free a small drink, crustos, tortilla chips, taco, burrito, Sancho, refried beans, tostada, chili burrito, empanada, or dinner plate. Filling out the back of the card meant entering into a sweepstakes for a thousand dollars5! That’s about $4,800 today.
Unfortunately, challenges surfaced for Indiana’s Taco Tico restaurants as the seventies drew to a close. By 1983, only seven locations remained. In 1983, Pipkins decided not to renew his contract with the corporate office. Instead, he rebranded his remaining restaurants as Taco Casita. “We are changing our name and menu to Taco Casita in order to bring you, our Valued Customers, better quality and variety in our menu items,” advertisements explained.
The new direction featured a fresh, expanded menu that added items like potato skins6. Unfortunately, Taco Casita didn’t last much longer than Taco Tico did. Nearly all of them closed in rapid succession, but the sole surviving Taco Casita in Terre Haute is where I found myself a few weeks ago. It was buzzing when my mom and I arrived for lunch!
After a full day of tracking down old Long Line towers, I was starving as we walked through the doors. A line stretched along the other side of the restaurant, so we made our way across the dining room and took our places. I was ready for a well-earned meal, but Mom seemed more excited for a big bite of nostalgia as she whipped out her phone to snap a photo of the menu’s Taco Tico-era hot sauce lineup: Mild, Hot, and Extra-Hot.
I wasn’t sure what to order, but the Deluxe Enchilada Plate looked like a classic choice. The woman ahead of me must have thought so too- she ordered hers “wet and hot” so Mom and I followed suit. As we seated ourselves, we noticed that our table was emblazoned with a faded label that recognized Taco Casita as “Home of the Wet Plate.” I felt good ordering what the place was famous for! Then it arrived.
I’ll admit it: most of my Mexican-style meals come from Taco Bell or local staples like Acapulco or Juan’s. This time, though, Mom and I received something like one of us would whip up at home. Picture this: a giant burrito and a tiny enchilada, both smothered in sauce and cheese, cozied up on a foam plate alongside a scoop of refried beans. A sack of salty restaurant-style chips rounded out the meal, and then there was the sauce. It covered everything! We’d ordered our plates hot, too, so a few drops of the good stuff looked to kick the offerings up a notch.
Taco Casita’s wet plate was messy, indulgent, and exactly what I needed after a long day. The enchilada came wrapped in a real corn tortilla, the beef in the burrito was finely-ground and packed a spicy punch, and the beans were prepared to simple, no-frills perfection. The sweet sauce didn’t just smother our plates; it doubled as the perfect dip for our chips. The best part was that both meals, plus a water and a medium Diet Coke, cost a hair north of thirteen bucks.
I was thrilled -ecstatic, even- after my trip to Taco Casita. I’m too young to have ever ventured into a Taco Tico, but stepping into its successor felt like traveling back to the ’80s. Everything from the paycheck-friendly prices to giant, arched window and simple decor created a charming, seedy throwback to a time before I was alive.
Unfortunately, I suspect Mom and I will end up at El Camino Real or La Isla next time we’re in Terre Haute when the Mexican cravings hit. She’s always happy to indulge my history-inspired adventures, but her palate has outgrown my simpler tastes. Still, I wouldn’t mind heading back and sampling the rest of Taco Casita’s menu. There were no potato skins to be found, but I still need to try the Extra-Hot sauce and find out what a Sancho is.
Stopping at Taco Casita for lunch was a real treat since most of the old Taco Tico buildings I’m familiar with have been repurposed into liquor stores, nail salons, or payday loan spots. Thankfully, Terre Haute’s location still stands to serve up the messy, nostalgic goodness. I’ve heard there are still a few genuine Taco Tico locations in Kentucky, but a road trip just for a taste of home isn’t really my thing. For now, my visit to Taco Casita has given me a satisfying introduction to the Taco Tico experience. I’m glad it did.
Sources Cited
1 Taco Grande founder dies (2017, June 8). The Wichita Eagle. Web. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
2 The Two Taco Tico Restaurants of Anderson Serve Genuine Mexican Foods Of High Quality (1976, September 26). The Anderson Herald. p. 26.
3 Taco Tico restaurants specialize in south-of-border food favorites (1978, June 20). The Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 14.
4 Business Briefs (1978, May 13). The Muncie Star. p. 8.
5 Play!…and Win! (1978, September 7). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 15.
6 Muncie’s Taco Tacos getting new name. (1983, November 16). The Muncie Evening Press. p. 18.
I never tried a Taco Tico when they were around. But your photos and descriptions are making me hungry! My Mexican go-to in Muncie was a place on Madison Avenue, but I’m foggy on the name.
La Hacienda?
I lived in TH 1985-1994. Taco Casita had two locations then. The other was somewhere on 3rd St (US 41). The building’s still there — 2201 S 3rd. They had godawful radio ads. I remember one set in a poorly acted Star Wars scene where they said “may the forks be with you.”
The forks were certainly not with me.