Growing the taste for The Taco Spot

The Roher family isn’t just winging it

By Terry Davis

In business, success sometimes hinges on being at the right place at the right time. Most often, though, there is much more to it than mere chance. Hard work, knowledge, relevant experience and teamwork are key factors.

That is illustrated by a family of Wing descendants looking to grow a chain of taco restaurants.

Robert Harrison Roher, then a 35-year-old native Texan working as a commercial real estate broker in Phoenix, AR., was representing the owner of The Taco Spot franchise looking for a new home for his restaurant.

Roher got to know more about the business and the two brothers, Jorge and Jesus Ruiz, who founded The Taco Spot just five years ago by selling birria tacos out of a Chandler, AZ., barbershop. Today, Roher and his family are taking on a new venture.

“Our family business is as a master franchisee of a growing restaurant franchise,” Roher said. “We’ve never had restaurants before, but we’ve learned a ton in just six months.”

The basis of a birria taco and other Taco Spot offerings is Mexican shredded beef marinated in a rich, flavorful consommé sauce with a blend of spices prepared just like the Ruiz brothers remember their mother cooking it. Besides tacos, the menu offers burritos, street tacos, quesadillas, birria ramen, sides such as rice and beans and much more.

Roher learned the Ruiz brothers initially had a few Taco Spot restaurants in Arizona, but they wanted to franchise their tasty idea, so Roher helped them find someone knowledgeable in franchising businesses.

“I saw a lot of potential in them and in their concept,” Roher said. The franchising expert asked Roher if he and his family were interested in being a master franchisee. That meant buying the rights to franchise The Taco Spot to entrepreneurs in a large territory.

“My Dad and I bought the rights for Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma at a really good price by being the first ones in,” Roher said. “I pretty much started it, and dad was interested because he always wanted to be invested in a growing concept.” Mexican food, such as tacos, is second only to pizza among growing segments in the dining out industry.

Robert moved to Phoenix from Texas a year after he married Samantha in 2016. They have three children with a fourth on the way. He brings experience in commercial real estate (though he now works mainly for a general commercial contractor. “And mom [Bonnie West Roher] is a behind-the-scenes advisor,” Robert said. “She understands business.”

The Ruiz brothers’ concept already has expanded beyond its Arizona roots with 21 The Taco Spot locations in Florida, Missouri, Utah, and Texas, and hopefully, soon in Oklahoma and Louisiana.

A 45-hour training program gives franchisees what they need to know to run a successful Taco Spot location, the company’s website says. The training includes menu development, food prep, customer service and marketing. Afterwards, the company does regular “check-ins” to guide the franchisees. The Taco Spot restaurants are averaging annual unit sales of more than $1.23 million.

The Taco Spot is considered part of the fast casual/quick service segment of the food industry. Customers place orders at a counter. Once prepared, the food is brought to their table. The Taco Spot is testing drive-thru operations in its Phoenix area. Roher predicts delivery will continue to grow. And catering is a significant part of the business serving corporate events, weddings and other gatherings.

The success of their own two Dallas stores, one on a major road near the airport and the other in a large entertainment area near AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, is a selling point when the Rohers meet with prospective franchisees, including about 15 who are currently exploring the idea. The Rohers have a goal of seeing 10 Taco Spot restaurants in the Dallas area by the end of 2025.

“They are doing great,” he said of their own two restaurants.

For more about The Taco Spot, visit: https://tacospotaz.com/

Lineage: Rev. John Wing, Stephen Wing, John Wing, John Wing, Mary Elizabeth Wing Salisbury, Mary Polly Salisbury West, Henry Salibury West, Chester Bristol West, James Archie West, Chester Arthur West, Chester Arthur West Jr., Bonnie West Roher, Robert Roher.