Mr. Taco Jr.
A local, family-owned Mexican restaurant with fresh food, never frozen!
Mr. Taco Jr. is a local chain restaurant in the East Texas area that supplies excellent cuisine for the citizens of Whitehouse and Tyler. Priding itself on providing fresh food that isn’t frozen, the local establishment has no freezers and can remarkably serve your order almost as fast as McDonalds without missing out on quality and service. Mr. Taco Jr. has a rich history of providing fine Mexican food for the Texas community, spanning many decades.
1976
Before Mr. Taco Jr. was ever even imagined, Emiliano Magallanez (the eventual owner of the local chain) grew up in a small loving household with his father working on the railroad and his mother in a sewing factory. He and his brother would have many of their friends over after school, resulting in Mrs. Magallanez having to fix meals for the hungry children. After noticing how much the young kids loved his wife’s cooking, Bonifacio Magallanez Jr. convinced her to quit her sewing job and open a restaurant.
1979
The Magallanez family ended up establishing three local restaurants in the Southeast Texas cities of Luling, Lockhart, and Gonzales. The latter two have remained open for over forty five years and continue to serve excellent Mexican food to this day!
2018
Flash forward several decades and little Emiliano, now grown up, has decided to follow in his family’s footsteps and continue the chain in the East Texas region - this time with the suffix jr. added. The first Mr. Taco Jr. location opened up in Whitehouse back in 2018, and quickly became a local hotspot for the small town community.
2023
Wanting to expand the local restaurant into the neighboring city of Tyler, Mr. Magallanez opened up a second restaurant on August 28th, 2023. This drive-through only location, a first for the Mr. Taco chain, is located on Old Jacksonville Highway. Magallanez chose the specific building after noticing the unique cowboy hat design on it and feeling it matched the theme of the chain very well.
2024
The restaurant chain is getting ready to open up another unique location in the coming months…Mr. Taco, Jr.’s Tortilla, Tamales, and Chips! This establishment, also located in Whitehouse, differentiates itself from its sister locations as instead of a restaurant, it is a local market. Here customers will be able to buy the titular food items to bring back home and enjoy.
Mr. Taco Jr. and original Mr. Taco locations
As you can see here on the right, the two currently running Mr. Taco Jr. locations and three original Mr. Taco locations are featured. The Luling location is no longer open, but the other two locations remain functioning!
