Ed Hackbarth opened the first Del Taco in Yermo in October 1961, situating the stand less than half a mile from the soon-to-be busy Interstate 15. He anticipated increased traffic between Southern California and Las Vegas and targeted travelers with inexpensive hard-shelled tacos. Hackbarth drew on experience co-owning a Taco Tia outpost and recognized tacos as a growing menu item. The Yermo location reportedly made $169 on its first day, roughly 900 tacos. The brand expanded across the desert to places like Needles and into Barstow, promising consistent quality and low prices.
Ed Hackbarth was, and remains, a man with a keen eye. The fast food founder must have seen something that others missed out in the Mojave Desert town of Yermo because, nearly 64 years ago, he opened the first ever Del Taco there. The tiny, sun-beaten stand couldn't have looked like much when the first few locals spotted it through their sunglasses, but that's all right. Hackbarth had a bigger vision.
He knew, for example, that the soon speedy Interstate 15 would pave over old routes on the way to the golden slot machines of Las Vegas, connecting a booming Southern California to endless gambling and day trips around the Grand Canyon. An interstate like that meant a lot of cars with a lot of passengers in need of a bite to eat - and Hackbarth knew just what to feed them, too: hard-shelled tacos.
He wasn't just guessing. Having previously co-owned a Barstow outpost of Taco Tia, a now largely forgotten chain under none other than Glen Bell (who would go on to found Taco Bell in 1962), Hackbarth knew that tacos were a rising star. So Yermo it was, with the world's first Del Taco (then called Casa del Taco) starting up in October 1961, less than half a mile from the freeway.
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