Del Taco acquired by NM company, changes coming to RR location

RIO RANCHO — A local New Mexico company has taken over the state franchise of the Del Taco chain, and changes are on the way for most locations, including Rio Rancho’s.

Sonaya Group announced its acquisition of Del Taco July 1. CEO Pranav Patel said while many locations will get a renovation, Rio Rancho’s changes will focus more on staffing and the improving the customer experience.

“So what we’re really focused on doing is just job creation so that we can actually focus on adding more sales and volume specifically to that location,” he said.

The location is a newer one, so physical change is not in the cards yet, according to Patel. However, he feels the performance of the Rio Rancho location could improve.

“The restaurant has certainly been, I would say, declining over the last few years. I think some of it is attributed to a challenging labor environment,” he said.

Patel added that the previous franchise owner was out of Arizona rather than local.

“We’re local here. The previous ownership was out of state, where I think we just are better equipped to manage a business like this because we are here,” he said.

He also stated the added labor would help the location achieve volume.

“What we’re really just focused on is adding that labor back and driving the right type of promotions to win back customers. Obviously, naturally, in this business, too, there’s been some new concepts that have opened up on that specific corner, like Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A, so there’s obviously a little bit of shift when that happens when there’s just more options,” he said.

“However, Del Taco is the second-largest Mexican (quick-service restaurant) concept after Taco Bell.”

The “uniqueness” and freshness of the menu is also a bragging point, according to Patel.

“When you think about the uniqueness of our menu and our food, especially when it comes from a perspective of food and ingredients being freshly prepped every day compared to our biggest competitor, there’s a big following for our restaurant. A lot of people just prefer it because of the quality, ultimately. We’re different from a freshness perspective,” Patel said.

He added that he was speculative about Del Taco’s fresh aspect but when he visited the locations, he was reassured. He said everything down to the guacamole is made fresh every morning.

“What’s important is people remember that we’re a national chain but we’re still locally owned. People think that when it’s a national chain that it’s some random conglomerate that owns them, and that’s not the case. We’re local to New Mexico and really excited to again bring back the ownership to New Mexico,” he said.

Patel is grateful Del Taco can continue to operate and hopes the community will visit the Rio Rancho location.

“I hope that they remember that we are local, so at the end of the day it’s still supporting local. We’re going to continue to invest in the community,” he said.

Patel added that people can look forward to the expansion of Del Taco in Rio Rancho.

“We need at least one or two more locations there,” he said.

Key highlights of the acquisition, according to Patel:

• All 10 locations will remain open and continue to operate under the Del Taco brand.
• Existing employees retained with plans for additional job creation.
• Store upgrades and operational enhancements planned statewide.
• Remodels will begin at four flagship locations in Albuquerque and Los Lunas.
• Plans to open new Del Taco locations across the Albuquerque metro over the next five years as part of Sonaya Group’s long-term regional growth strategy.
• Launch of community engagement initiatives and partnerships beginning this summer.
• Customers can expect familiar favorites alongside improved service, refreshed store environments and increased community involvement.

For those interested in joining the New Mexico Del Taco team, positions are listed at deltaco.com/careers.