On Wednesday, fast-casual restaurant Rusty Taco named Daniel Smith its new president. Smith joins the Dallas-based street-taco brand after spending over six years at fast-casual chain Hopdoddy Burger Bar as its chief operating officer.
“I am thrilled to be part of a concept like Rusty Taco,” said Smith in a statement. “With a casual atmosphere, delicious menu and full bar experience, there is so much to leverage. Right now, we’re focused on catching consumers’ attention by building off the brand’s strengths and continuing to improve. There is room in the taco segment for a category leader, and our goal is to gain momentum and catapult to the top. And we want to support our franchisees at a level they’ve never experienced before while attracting new operators to join us.”
Prior, Smith spent 26 years at Claim Jumper Restaurants, leaving in 2009 as its VP of operations. From there, he spent time at Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza and Bonefish Grill before eventually joining Hopdoddy Burger Bar in 2017. Smith is also a multi-unit Pieology franchisee.
Smith, left, left his position at Austin, Texas-based Hopdoddy in January 2024, according to his LinkedIn page.
Inspire Brands sold Rusty Taco to California-based private equity firm Gala Capital Partners (GCP) in 2022 after initially acquiring the concept in 2018 as part of the Buffalo Wild Wings purchase.
“It’s an exciting time for Rusty Taco, and with the addition of [Smith], we are looking forward to growing,” said Anand Gala, founder and managing partner of GCP, in a statement. “This strategic move will guide Rusty Taco to become a leading fast-casual brand in the taco category, and we are confident that Daniel has the vision and experience needed to take it there. We can’t wait to see how Rusty Taco develops in the year ahead and beyond.”
During Rusty Taco’s time under the Inspire Brands umbrella, units increased by 50%.
GCP invests in or acquires mid-sized restaurant brands past the proof-of-concept phase with 25-500 units and is also the parent company of emerging regional chains MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes and Dunn Brothers Coffee, both acquisitions in the past five years.
There are currently over 30 locations of Rusty Taco across 13 states.
