Founder of Shake Shack invests in Mexican chain Tacombi

Right after backing the initial public offering of Panera Brands, Danny Meyer now invests in Tacombi, the fast food and casual trend Mexican restaurant chain.

On December 9, the New York-based taqueria, which also owns the Vista Hermosa packaged food brand, announced a first round of institutional funding of $ 27.5 million. Enlightened Hospitality Investments, co-founded by Meyer, is the lead investor. Others include two Mexico-based companies: Rodina, a hotel investment company, and private equity fund Capital Mazapil, and Gary Hirshberg, co-founder of organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm.

“With Enlightened Hospitality, there are three big boxes to check,” says Meyer. “Is it an idea that we would have liked to have ourselves? Then, would we have hired the leader if we had been lucky enough to meet them? And lastly, is it a culture that we would be proud of? Tacombi, along with founder Dario Wolos, is “a powerful combination of the three,” he says.

Wolos created Tacombi as a taco stand on a Yucatan beach in 2006. He relocated his brand to the United States and now has 13 stands in the New York City, Miami, and Washington, DC areas where tacos al pastor are served. and margaritas by the glass or pitcher. At least five more locations are scheduled to open in existing cities and Connecticut in 2022. A dozen more are planned for 2023, including locations in Boston, Chicago, New Jersey and Long Island.

Tacombi’s current taquerías are projected to generate more than $ 50 million in revenue next year. Wolos also anticipates that the Vista Hermosa brand, which includes flour and corn tortillas and chips, will have more than $ 10 million in U.S. retail sales in 2022 with a line of frozen burritos reaching a handful of regions.

Wolos will use the capital to expand the line of consumer packaged goods, improve technology for customer orders and expand the network of traditional restaurants. He projects there will be 75 Tacombi points in the next five years.

“There are 50,000 Mexican stores across the country with a pretty good distribution,” he says. “To be a retailer in building a business, I draw on a page from Shake Shack’s crafty playbook, first creating on the East Coast that we think can be replicable.”

Meyer agrees that Tacombi has the opportunity to expand nationally in the coming years into an empty niche that includes an additional layer of hospitality as well as cocktails.

“Look at the national reach of other places with Mexican influences, obviously the biggest, the widest and the oldest is Taco Bell,” he says. “Chipotle has been hugely successful.” So much Mmm! Brands Inc., which owns Taco Bell, like Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. posted profits last year. Meanwhile, Meyer’s Shake Shack Inc. was down 34% at the close of the market on Wednesday from its all-time high in February.

Tacombi, which is a hybrid between full-service bar and casual fast-food restaurant that clings to a Mexican beach cabana vibe, operates in a separate space. “It allows the consumer the ease of not spending too much money or time, while offering flavor and a little more hospitality. It’s fascinating, ”says Meyer.