Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
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Pup 'N' Taco (and Big DoNut!) In late 2002 I posted a couple of pictures of my great uncle's former business, Pup 'N' Taco, and was surprised at the number of customers who wrote to say how much they missed the food! So, I've created these pages as a kind of memento of the family business... |
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Pup 'N' Taco Letters |
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Pup 'N' Taco Photos from friends... |
Click on any of this page's "thumbnail" images for a larger view!
(Most photos are from the collection of my father, Roger L. Wendell)
 Newer style building identified as Garden Grove by David Tognazzini See Letters |
 Colfax and Williams Denver, Colorado - 1975 |
Yes, although I've drank my weight in Pepsi®, Coke®, and a host of other softdrinks, I'll have to admit that Pup 'N' Taco's RC Cola®, Orange drink, and "Slushes" were my favorites!
 Unfortunately, way back then, there were all kinds of legal issues wrapped around the use of any words that described cola-like drinks - causing us to expend all kinds of extra effort to ensure employees properly identified the brand of softdrinks we were serving... |
 4th Special Print Cup |
 Rosemeade and Thorndale, Pasadena, California - 1967 |
 Interior seating at newer stores |
 Order Here! (Might be Marge in this photo, I'm not sure...) |
 Snow day, Christmas Eve, 1973 1775 East Colfax Avenue Denver, Colorado |
 Taco Sauce |
 Bumper Sticker: Bite the One You Love! |
 Special Dressing |
 What restaurant chain hasn't given out the equivelant of a small country's Gross Domestic Product in free balloons? |
The Pup 'N' Taco Story:
My father, along with other family, friends and relatives, owned, operated, and managed Pup 'N' Taco restaurants in Southern California, Albuquerque and Denver. My brothers and sister and I all worked in them at various times during our teens and 20s. My mom, of course, helped out too and it wasn't uncommon for all of us to enjoy a Pup 'N' Taco dinner even after having worked there all day! Even my own kids and wife, in the early 80s, frequently enjoyed Pup 'N' Taco meals whenever we could stop in.Originally, prices were a mere 15 cents for the town's best chilidog or taco. In the early days, the main Pup 'N' Taco outdoor sign featured a huge "15 cents" logo that far outshined the actual name of our business. Anyway, burritos, tostadas, pastrami sandwiches, taco burgers and the "Texas Tomato Burger" were all big sellers. For your thirst we featured RC Cola®, root beer, orange and our own fabulous cherry and grape flavored "slush" drinks - as a kid I continuously "sampled" them all!!
According to the media,* in about 1984, Pup 'N' Taco was sold to Taco Bell when it had around 100 stores compared to Taco Bell's 1,800. Even back then, the newspapers say, Taco Bell had gross sales of around 5 Billion dollars - the newspapers guessed this was about 1 or 2 hundred times my family's business!! I, myself, other than being an employee, never had any financial interest in Pup 'N' Taco so I have no idea what the real figures were and nobody's about to tell me, either! Anyway, as it goes in a free market, Pup 'N' Taco was sold and Taco Bell either remodeled or razed dozens of our buildings. Throughout the 20 year history of the chain, my family developed many great friendships with employees, suppliers, contractors and customers who will all be missed!
*Nation's Restaurant News (November 12, 1984), Press-Telegram (AM/PM/Thursday, Nov 1, 1984), Los Angeles Times article by Staff Writer Bruce Horovitz (pp. 1&2 of the Business Section, I can't see the date in my photocopy...), The Registar, Business article by Charles Siler (I can only read the words Wednesday, Oct. in my photocopy...).
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Russ Wendell started it all! |
| In the late 1940s my father's uncle, Russell C. Wendell, created the Big DoNut Drive-In idea while selling donut making machines in Los Angeles. The first Big DoNut Drive-In was started at Normandie and Century, in 1950, with Russ opening nine more during the decade. Russ Wendell experimented with different food ideas, one being "Big Taco," that evolved into the first Pup 'N' Taco in 1965. The succesful chain of Pup 'N' Taco restaurants reached a total of about 104 stores - most of which were located in the Los Angeles area although there were a few in Albuquerque and Denver. Russ Wendell's son, Russ Jr., was a big part of the business with my father, other Wendells and friends, getting ivolved later on... |
 Formerly Russ Wendell's Big DoNut Drive-In at Manchester and La Cienega in Los Angeles, California |
 Thanks Mark Wilson! |
It was the mass-production capabilities of the donut machines Russ Wendell was selling that enabled him to create a Drive-In that featured a quality, economical product. Also, it was this service concept that Russ Wendell used to originate the idea of serving customers through drive-up windows. Both Pup 'N' Taco and Big DoNut received lots of media attention, and sometimes humor, from the likes of Johnny Carson and other celebrities.The gigantic Big DoNut sign, itself, has been featured in television shows, documentaries, rock videos and various movies. Even Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev asked about the huge donut he saw from his Los Angeles motorcade during his visit to America in 1959!
So, Pup 'N' Taco and Big DoNut are now "history," as it were, but I'm always delighted to hear from folks who remember the food and friendship. And, as indicated on my PNT Letters page, there does seem to be a lot of good memories floating around out there!!
 Formerly Russ Wendell's 1st Big DoNut Drive-In at Normandie and Century in Los Angeles, California |
 My Dad's business card |
 Hand Puppets |
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Pup 'N' Taco Letters |
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Pup 'N' Taco Photos |
More Pix and Stuff!
Videos!
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