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Snapshots and stories of our El Taco restaurant in the 1970's.



Mom in front of El Taco.
Mom in front of El Taco. It was located at 3297 Tweedy Blvd, South Gate, Ca. This was one of her promo shots that were placed in newspaper ads.


El Taco, South Gate, Ca. Florence Leach, Veronica De Luna, Danny Lemos and Mike Kutsoginis.
Florence Leach, Veronica De Luna, Danny Lemos and Mike Kutsoginis. If any former El Taco employees or customers have found this page, I would sure love to hear from you!


El Taco menu, early 1970's.
Danny Lemos, Mom and Mike Kutsoginis. Zooming in on the menu, looks like you could get a Bean and Cheese Burrito for $0.55, a crispy ground beef Taco for $0.40, or a Hot Dog with Mustard & Onion for only $0.50.


Mom and Danny Lemos are standing behind the counter at the assembly area, with Mike Kutsoginis looking on from the back.
Mom and Danny are standing behind the counter at the assembly area, with Mike Kutsoginis looking on from the back. There was a full kitchen area in the back, where all the food was cooked from scratch.


October 1973. Dad making refried beans at El Taco.
October 1973. Dad making refried beans at El Taco.


May 1973. Mom making refried beans at El Taco.
The monster bean cooker! The entire purpose of this huge standalone pot was to make refried beans. It had its own internal heating system fueled by a gas line in wall. It had an exit spout on the bottom to empty water directly into a drain in the floor. We would prepare 40 pounds of beans at a time, twice a week! I say 'we' though either mom or dad or one of the employees would be doing the hard work, I was occasionally engaged in stirring, which my 11-year-old self thought was quite cool.


Empty a 40-lb sack of dry pinto beans into multiple large rectangular tubs. Grab anyone who isn't busy and set them to picking through the beans and discard out any debris such as rocks or stems. Pour the cleaned beans into the monster pot. Turn on the faucet and cover them with water. Stir them up until the water is cloudy then drain. Repeat the rinsing process as many times as it takes until stirring results in clean water.  Close the monster lid and let the beans soak overnight. In the morning add salt, onion, bacon and lard. Turn on the heat and stir, stir, stir throughout the day. To stir the beans use a big wooden paddle that looks like an oar you might row a small boat with. Simmer the beans for about 8 hours, or until tender. Don't burn your tongue when taste-testing one! To mash the beans use the handheld electric drill that has a 3 foot extension rod with a beater on the end. When the beans are cool, place them in 10-lb rectangular tubs and carry them into the walk-in refrigerator/freezer.


Washing dishes at El Taco.
When you're done cooking, it's time to hand wash, dry and put away all those dishes! A clean kitchen is a good kitchen.


Veronica De Luna.
Veronica De Luna, 1973. Looks like she's cutting onions.


Inside El Taco
Here's mom in the back kitchen cutting up something on the cutting board. You can see one of my dads oil paintings hanging on the wall in the top left corner of the photo.


El Taco, South Gate, Ca. 1972.
1972, View of El Taco from across the street.


1973, El Taco. View from across the street at Adohr Farms Dairy quick-stop drive-thru store.
1973, El Taco. View from across the street at Adohr Farms Dairy quick-stop drive-thru store.


October 1973, El Taco. View from the parking lot, showing the drive-through window area.
October 1973, El Taco. View from the parking lot, showing the drive-through window area.


March 1975. My friend Rhonda Jones and me on the step ladder, washing the windows of El Taco.
March 1975. My friend Rhonda Jones and me on the step ladder, washing the windows of El Taco. Mom would pay us $4.00 to wash ALL those windows inside and out. We used a bucket, scrub brush, squeegee, towel and step-ladder to accomplish this job. As I recall it took the better part of the day to finish them to moms satisfaction. After we got our hard-earned $4 (that's $2 each) we would walk down Tweedy Blvd and spend it at Middle Earth Records or The Bead Shoppe. Then we would walk home to my house or her house, and either play music or make jewelry, or both! We were really into making macrame bracelets with hemp cord and colored wooden or glass beads.


August 1973, El Taco. It was on the northwest corner of Tweedy Blvd and Dearborn Ave.
August 1973, El Taco. It was on the northwest corner of Tweedy Blvd and Dearborn Ave.


May 1973. El Taco employees Carolyn Florez and Alfonso Vicuña working the drive-thru window.
May 1973. El Taco employees Carolyn Florez and Alfonso Vicuña working the drive-thru window.


Ed Whetton in El Taco.
The early days, 1972. Mom with previous manager Ed Whetton.


Ed Whetton with wife and son in El Taco.
May 1973. Ed Whetton holding his son. Ed's wife showing his farewell cake.


Kneeling in front row: Carolyn Florez (holding El Taco cake), Florence Leach, Barbi Leach. Standing in back row: Eileen Flores, Alfonso Vicuña, Siva, Ed Whetton, Ed's wife and son; remaining three names unknown).
Kneeling in front row: Carolyn Florez (holding El Taco cake), Florence Leach, Barbi Leach. Standing in back row: Eileen Flores, Alfonso Vicuña, Siva, Ed Whetton, Ed's wife and son; remaining three names unknown).


El Taco 1974.
About 1974. My cousin Bill Schaard was visiting us from Frankenmuth, Michigan. You can see McDonald's with the original golden arches in the background. Even though McDonald's was next door (just across Dearborn Ave.), El Taco's hamburgers were still a popular item on the menu. Not only did we have American-style Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers; we also had Taco burgers (similar to what we call a Sloppy Joe today), made with El Taco's signature spiced ground beef. Pictured Left-Right: Bill, Mom, Me, Dad. My friend Jackie Kelly is behind me.


1974, El Taco.
1974. Bill, Mom, me and Dad.


Mickey Thompson, El Taco, 1974.
1974. Mom with employee Mickey Thompson.


Dads van.
This was my Dads van, parked in front of our house. There's an El Taco story related to this van!

Though we always had a commercial laundry service pick up and deliver fresh uniforms and towels, sometimes we would run out of clean towels before the next weeks' delivery. Dad would take a few loads of towels to a nearby laundromat to wash and dry them. One time he loaded the freshly dried and still-hot towels into his van, came home and left them there overnight. Can you guess where this story is going?

In the middle of the night we were awoken to the sound of fire engine sirens blazing and a loud banging on our front door. The hot towels had ignited the carpet and the inside of the van was on fire! The fire was put out quickly by the South Gate Fire Department, but the van was a total loss. And we had to replace all the company towels.

We spent many happy hours taking trips in that van, to the desert, camping in the sequoias, and hauling my surfboard to the beach on Saturdays. I still miss it!



December 1974, Dad had just painted the El Taco windows with Christmas decorations.
December 1974, Dad had just painted the windows with Christmas decorations.


December 1973. Working on the float for the South Gate Christmas Parade. Pam Walker and Mom are sitting on top of the truck attaching the flowers we all made from tissue paper. Dad painted the sign on a long roll of canvas and attached it to the truck.
December 1973. Working on the float for the South Gate Christmas Parade. Pam Walker and Mom are sitting on top of the truck attaching the flowers we all made from tissue paper. Dad painted the sign on a long roll of canvas and attached it to the truck.


December 1973.
December 1973. Posing for a photo in our costumes before going to participate in the parade. Left to right: Barbi Leach, Ken leach, Florence Leach, Pam Walker, Carolyn Florez, Alfonso Vicuña and Helen Worden.


December 1973. Dad in the truck, ready for the parade. Of course he scooted over to the driver side when it was time to go.
December 1973. Dad in the truck, ready for the parade. Of course he scooted over to the driver side when it was time to go.


December 1973. Dad in the truck, me and mom standing by, ready for the parade.
December 1973. Dad in the truck, me and mom standing by, ready for the parade.


Driving down Tweedy Blvd for the 1973 South Gate Christmas Parade. On roof of car is mom and me, dad is driving, Pam Walker on the hood.
Driving down Tweedy Blvd for the 1973 South Gate Christmas Parade. On roof of car is mom and me, dad is driving, Pam Walker on the hood.


Driving down Tweedy Blvd for the 1973 South Gate Christmas Parade. On roof of car is mom and me, dad is driving, Pam Walker on the hood. I don't remember where the rest of our costumed group were; whether they were walking alongside the float or in a separate vehicle.
Driving down Tweedy Blvd for the 1973 South Gate Christmas Parade. On roof of car is mom and me, dad is driving, Pam Walker on the hood. I don't remember where the rest of our costumed group were; whether they were walking alongside the float or in a separate vehicle.


Thursday, Septermber 11, 1975. Friendly employees as well as fine foods make El Taco a fun place to eat. Pictured are Florence Leach and helpers Veronica De Luna, Danny Lemos, and Mike Kutsoginis. The El Taco, located at 3297 Tweedy Blvd. in South Gate, offers hamburgers and fries in addition to their regular Mexican fare.
One of the newspaper clippings in my collection.

Friendly employees as well as fine foods make El Taco a fun place to eat. Pictured are Florence Leach and helpers Veronica De Luna, Danny Lemos, and Mike Kutsoginis. The El Taco, located at 3297 Tweedy Blvd. in South Gate, offers hamburgers and fries in addition to their regular Mexican fare.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1975



Newspaper clipping, February 6 1957, A&W Root Beer, Frankenmuth Michigan.
February 6 1957, A&W Root Beer, Frankenmuth Michigan.
Moms first job as a restaurant manager was when she was just 19 years old, with her sister and managing partner Milda Minar. Before becoming co-manager, mom said she had worked as a soda-fountain waitress, babysitter, snow shoveler and lawnmowing for local neighbors.






El Taco copycat Rice recipe.
Moms El Taco copycat Rice Recipe
I loved El Taco rice, maybe because it was the rice I grew up eating. It had a light fluffy texture, never hard, al-dente, sticky, or too wet.

This recipe has been adapted for home kitchens, as the original recipe was for making very large restaurant-sized quantities. It still makes quite a lot of rice, but it freezes and thaws well, so you can make a big batch and freeze smaller portions in zip-lock bags for future use. (You could also cut the ingredients in half to make a smaller portion, but then you will have a half can of tomato sauce left over.)


EL TACO RICE - DIY Copycat Recipe
INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup oil or butter
2 cups dry long-grain rice
2 large chopped onions
4 cups water
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
4 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
15 ounce can of tomato sauce

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil or butter in a large frying pan. Add rice, onions, fresh garlic, salt and garlic powder in the pan and stir well. Continue frying and stirring until the rice becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the water and tomato sauce. Stir well, cover and reduce heat to simmer, leave it for 30 minutes.

ENJOY!


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