The '70s Fast Food Chain Famous For Its 24-Hour Drive-Thru Is Simply Too Iconic To Forget

Once there was a fast food Mexican chain with locations stretching from Alaska to Illinois. It was famous for its 24-hour drive-thru, freshly made food, fast and friendly service, and for selling both tacos and hamburgers. No, it wasn't Taco Bell or Del Taco, it was called Naugles, and if you're unfamiliar with the brand, that may be because the last location closed in 1995. (That is, until an Orange County, California, food blogger and his backers fought to revive the brand.) Naugles opened in 1970 in Southern California, the unofficial birthplace of fast food, where rivals Taco Bell and Del Taco also started.

Naugles' menu included an interesting range of food, from standard hard-shell tacos to burritos with a red and green sauce to taco burgers, essentially a taco on a bun (later renamed the Bun Taco), to actual hamburgers, along with shakes, fries, and various breakfast options. If a few of these items remind you of Del Taco's menu, that's because Naugles and Del Taco share a lot of history, starting with Dick Naugle, the man who launched the company and was a co-founder of Del Taco. It ends with Del Taco and Naugles' merger in 1988 that spelled the doom of the latter chain, or at least its first incarnation.

Dick Naugle's relationship with Del Taco goes back to its beginning, when Del Taco opened in 1964 in Corona (back when a taco cost 19 cents), and managed the original restaurant before venturing out on his own in 1970 with his first Naugles location in Riverside, California. Naugle sold the business in 1979, and by the following decade, there were more than 200 locations in 11 states, although most were in Southern California. In 1988, Orange County restaurateur Anwar Suliman bought both Del Taco and Naugles, with most Naugles locations being rebranded as Del Taco.

Like the demise of another California taco chain, Pup 'N' Taco, due to rival Taco Bell, which bought all their locations in 1984, Del Taco eventually subsumed Naugles. When the last Naugles closed in 1995, it seemed like the chain's end was near. Then, in 2008, food blogger Christian Ziebarth began a crusade to restart the brand. He and a group of investors won the rights to the defunct Naugles trademark and opened their own version in 2015 after spending time working with chef John Smittle to recreate the original recipes. Today, you can get all the Naugles classics, including the Bun Taco, at the restaurant in Fountain Valley, California.