Jack in the Box Is Selling Off Del Taco for an Astounding Price After Just 3 Years—Here’s Why
Jack in the Box is cleaning house—and it might change where you grab your next late-night taco. Less than four years after spending nearly half a billion dollars to acquire Del Taco, the San Diego-based burger chain is selling it for a fraction of that price. The $115 million deal with Fremont's Yadav Enterprises marks a major shake-up for both brands and signals how competitive the fast-food landscape has become.
For Jack in the Box, this is a reset. The company says shedding Del Taco will let it pay down debt and focus on what made it famous in the first place: burgers, curly fries and drive-thrus that keep the lights on after midnight. It's part of a bigger turnaround effort dubbed "Jack on Track," aimed at simplifying the business after several tough quarters and a string of restaurant closures.
The Deal and What It Means
Jack in the Box announced it is selling Del Taco Holdings Inc. to Yadav Enterprises for $115 million in cash, with the sale expected to close by January 2026. Yadav—already one of Jack's biggest franchisees—operates more than 300 restaurants across brands like Denny's, TGI Fridays, El Pollo Loco, and Corner Bakery Café. The deal includes roughly 550 Del Taco locations, marking a big shift for the California-based chain.
CEO Lance Tucker called the move "an important step in returning to simplicity." It's not hard to see why. Jack in the Box paid $575 million for Del Taco back in 2022, hoping to expand into the Mexican-American fast-food market and diversify its menu mix. But sales never took off. Both brands have seen declining traffic, store closures and increased competition from giants like Taco Bell, which continues to dominate the value-meal space.
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A Leaner, Back-to-Burgers Strategy
The sale is part of Jack in the Box's ongoing "Jack on Track" plan, which includes closing underperforming stores and focusing more on franchised locations instead of company-owned ones. In short, the company is slimming down to stay competitive. Proceeds from the sale will go toward paying down debt and investing in areas with better long-term growth potential, such as mobile ordering and delivery.
Jack in the Box has had a rough year. In August, it reported its worst quarter in several years, with revenue down 10 percent and same-store sales dropping more than seven percent. The brand's hoping a lighter footprint and renewed focus on burgers and drive-thru service will help it rebound. For fans, that could mean tighter menus, faster operations and fewer low-performing locations slowing the chain down.
What's Next for Del Taco
For Del Taco, the change could be a fresh start. Under Yadav Enterprises, the chain joins a portfolio that includes Taco Cabana and Nick the Greek, two brands that have grown steadily under Yadav's ownership. The company's CEO, Anil Yadav, actually started as a fry cook at a Jack in the Box in the 1980s, which adds a full-circle twist to the deal. Yadav has a reputation for reviving struggling chains and expanding regionally, which might be exactly what Del Taco needs.
In the short term, fans probably won't notice much change—your favorite tacos and burritos aren't going anywhere yet. But with new ownership comes new strategy, and Yadav's record suggests we could see updated menus, tech-driven ordering and even regional growth in the next few years.
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