Tampa’s fast-casual Mexican food chain Taco Bus has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy to restructure more than half a million dollars in debt, the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported. A Small Business Administration Emergency Injury Disaster Loan received during the pandemic accounted for $500,000 of Taco Bus’s total liabilities. The SBA loan was partially secured by $25,000 of equipment as collateral, according to the filing. Taco Bus also owes RJCE Properties LLC around $14,000 in rent and the Internal Revenue Service $11,200 for taxes to resolve four liens filed between 2018 and 2021, the filing shows. Taco Bus also received a $240,000 grant from the SBA during the pandemic, which it does not believe it must repay, according to the filing. Taco Bus was previously named one of the most popular food trucks in the U.S. after a feature on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2011. Taco Bus changed ownership in 2013 when Founder Rene Valenzuela sold off a majority of the company. While Valenzuela reportedly maintained a minority stake after that deal, Umar Farooq was listed as the sole owner of Taco Bus in the filing and has been listed as president of the company since 2017, according to Florida’s division of corporations. Taco Bus has 10 locations across Tampa Bay, three fewer than reported in 2019 when the company opened a location in Orlando.
