Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 10

59 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 10 TACO R I CO TEX-MEX CAFÉ supply chain was completely intact, in fact, they were begging for us to unload products.” So, Taco Rico used that advantage to help supplement the sales losses they were hit with from the early pandemic shutdowns. They came up with what they called the “Grocery List”– they ordered in bulk from their suppliers, made up a coupon and flyer, and began selling bulk meats, toilet paper, sanitizer, bleach, and gloves through their online portals at a low markup of 20 to 30 percent. Neal explains, “We were trying to do a service to the community, so we didn’t mark it up that much, but within about a month our sales were just fine, to be perfectly honest. We created a big section on Uber and Door Dash and GrubHub and we started selling it that way. We had people calling in for $300 to $400 orders. Our profit was definitely down, our expansion plans were dashed, but we were surviving.” As the pandemic raged on, Taco Rico found its stride and continued to succeed. By May 2020, the restaurant chain’s sales were back to normal and they’ve only continued to grow since then. “We’re running anywhere from 40 to 60 percent above last year, above pre-COVID, our best numbers,” Neal reports. “From May 2020 we averaged no less than a five percent month over month increase.” The reason for their success is two-fold. First, they were able to easily transition to takeout and delivery sales. “What really helped us was the fact that we were already digitized,” Neal explains. “We were already with the Ubers and Door Dashes. Our menus were completely built out. We had a couple of virtual brands we had recently started that were doing pretty good, so we were way ahead of the typical waiter and waitress restaurant that needed to pivot. They didn’t know how to profit from those relationships and it takes a while to figure out how to do that.” The second reason for their success: high quality