I first heard about Naugles from fellow blogger Christian Ziebarth who was giving me bits and pieces about the connection when I mentioned how much we love Del Taco. In 2006, Christian posted on his blog how much he missed Naugles and through readers’ comments, realized he wasn’t alone.
But before going into the Naugles revival, I want to give those of you who, like me, did not grow up here, a little background. Naugles was founded by former Del Taco partner Dick Naugle, in Riverside, California. Dick’s motto was “Prepare food fresh. Serve customer fast. Keep place clean!”
In 1979, Harold Butler purchased Naugles when the chain consisted of three restaurants and later expanded by a system of non-exclusive franchises. Butler built Naugles up to 225 restaurants by 1986, when he sold the chain to Collins Foods International.
Naugles merged with Del Taco in 1988 when businessman Aniwar Soliman purchase both companies at nearly the same time. A few of the Naugles menu items are still available on the Del Taco menu including the Naugles Taco Sandwich (Del Taco calls it a “bun taco”). A year later, Soliman announced that he was going to convert most of the 171 Naugles locations to Del Taco by the end of that summer. By 1994-1995, all Naugles were either converted to Del Taco, or closed.
Back to current day, on March 31, 2015, Christian Ziebarth won a judgment from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board allowing the restaurant to return to life as a new stand-alone spot in Fountain Valley.
Last week, I had the opportunity to try Naugles for the first time. The menu is small, but the tacos are good… REALLY good. I loved how fresh the soft chicken taco is, how it tastes like something I would make at home. Most of my friends dig into their burgers, or the ubiquitous bun taco. Those are stellar as well. If you are a fan of fries, the Naugles fries are solid!
If you’ve been feeling nostalgic for Naugles, or are a first timer like I was, here’s a chance to WIN a $20 giftcard to check it out. Leave a comment (with your full name) and tell me why you think you should win. Entries close on Dec 23rd, 2017.
Naugles
18471 Mt. Langley Street
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
We love Del Taco! We haven’t tried Naugles, looks delish!
OMG – Flashback to 1976. Best stoner food EVER!
Wow! Haven’t heard about Naugles in a long time! Brings back memories… we’d go there for late night runs in high school! Glad to see that there’s still one around. Hope you’re doing well. Keep the awesome reviews coming!
I want to try Naugles because Del Taco is my fave
Naugles is the BEST!
I deserve to win the gift card! Honest! No, really!
Money’s tight right now, and I need my cheese burritos to see me through!
Lucky devil you!
Naugles’ steak, egg & cheese burrito was always my go-to for the “mornings after” LOL! Best ever!
Would love to have this one so that I can share the cheese burrito love with friends who remember.
Naugles is back! During the summer, the beach location was great! Gotta love the tacos and taco sandwich 🙂
I have never been, but I would like to try this place.
Deb Moretti
I will be a first timer, but my hubby remembers it well. He wants to go back to the 70s and 80s.
Naugles is one of those places that I keep hearing about but haven’t made it out to yet. Fingers crossed!
My boss has not stopped raving about this place for the past 2 weeks! Would love to win and try this place out!
Huge Naugles fan. was the 1st person to.buy tickets to the first pop up and have been to all 3 of the first day openings. Fv, hb, and reopening of Fv. the taco salad cup is my favorite.
susanc1026@gmail.com
I have been following Naugles since they announced the relaunching, but for some darn reason haven’t been out to try the food!! I want to so bad! Why haven’t I yet? Maybe I’ve been unknowingly waiting to win this contest😜. Either way I need to get in my car and drive back in time to Naugles. Can’t wait any longer!