Pulse Publications #23 - January 2024

Simply The Best

IN MY PREVIOUS LIFE IN APPLE VALLEY , I had an early morning routine that involved a visit to the Del Taco at the edge of the parking lot of the Target Supercenter. I’d order an egg and cheese burrito and a large iced coffee, light ice. Their iced coffees were better than that served up at Starbucks and I’d park in their parking lot and people-watch while eating.

On one particular morning as I checked my order, I saw that the burrito was only half full and I complained to the young girl working the drive-thru. I said that it didn’t look like what was pictured on the menu. She looked at me as if she had better things to do and replied, “If you don’t like it, you can always go to Barstow.”

I thought, “Gee, customer service is not her middle name.” But as it turned out, that’s exactly what I did. I moved to Barstow not because of the burrito but because life was telling me that this was where I was supposed to be. I now have a new morning routine involving the Del Taco on Mountain View where customer service is their middle name and the breakfast burritos are often as pictured.

My fascination with customer service is not weird, I think, as most of us—in fact, probably all of us—appreciate when we are treated with kindness and made to feel welcome. Part of my joy in the morning is the greeting I receive from Cat, the kindly grandmother who works the drive-thru at the Mountain View location. When she hears my voice, she recognizes me and says, “Welcome, my friend.” It’s funny

how three simple words can make you feel special and that I believe is part of the uniqueness of our three Del Taco’s.

In sharing my story with CJ, the general manager of all three stores, and Julie, the niece of the franchise’s founder and the former Mayor of Barstow, they were more than happy to share stories about the mystique surrounding our DTs— about why former residents who, like in this time of year, have returned to visit family but first visit a Del Taco because they miss the food and the service. As CJ remarked, “We could hire fewer people, but it’s the people and not only the food that customers like. We’re like family.”

Family. Really? What a concept!

By J.P.Garner

Nowadays, corporations strive to minimize customer interaction but not at Barstow’s Del Tacos where Ed Hackbarth, an owner, is sometimes seen outside, collecting money on the store’s busiest night: Taco Wednesday. On one particular night, a concerned customer alerted the DT staff that there was some guy outside, collecting money, not knowing that he was an owner.

Of the days of the week that customers fill the lane at the drive-thru, the favorite is Taco Wednesday which evolved from the original good deal of a 50-cent taco and a 50-cent drink. Julie, who worked at DT as a young child, recalled that on one occasion, the Lenwood store sold 14,000 tacos. Isn’t that like enough tacos to go around the world or at least to Victorville? Taco Wednesday, however, became the store’s busiest night because, formerly, it was typically the week’s slowest night. Not anymore.

Julie laughed when she recounted the story about how, in years past at the 1st

Street location, the prep and assembly area was so tight and so busy that she, as a young girl, was used to delivering bags of tacos to her father, Tony, in the front because she could fit through the narrow spaces between the workers. That was back when the 1st Street operation was the only Del Taco in town and on Friday nights, everyone would cruise Route 66 that, like now, served as Main Street.

The Barstow Taco is a featured food item because it is part of the classic menu that’s still available to customers. Its unique construction with a tomato slice at the top has been adopted by corporate. In fact, corporate wants so badly to mimic Barstow’s menu success, that it has often visited to learn how to cook the meat. CJ explained, “We cook the meat fresh every day. Corporate, however, pre-cooks their meat, then freezes it which affects its taste. Fresh always tastes better than preserved.” On an average week, Barstow’s DTs will freshly cook 1,000 pounds of meat and serve it with their original meat sauce which is prepared inhouse.

“Fresh is also how we serve our cheese. We get blocks of cheddar—about 4,000 pounds per week—which we grade every day because fresh tastes so much better. It’s more work but customers like it.”

More work but customers like it. Another unique concept.

The world has changed many times over since Del Taco was founded in Yermo so many decades ago. For the most part, though, the food, the service, and the uniqueness of the familyowned and operated business haven’t. People have grown up with Del Taco. I took my granddaughter and me to the 1st Street location for breakfast back when she lived with me in the late 90s and before dropping her off at the Henderson school. We’d have breakfast burritos and orange juice served by Kelly who has been a constant at that location.

CJ commented on how often people come back after being away. As I was departing the interview, I met a couple from Utah who were visiting family for the holidays. They had just finished their meal and were at Del Taco because, in 1988, it was where they went for their first date. They’ve been together ever since.

Then, last night, I went to the DT on Mountain View to take pictures. Inside was seated a young man eating his meal who I approached. I explained what I was doing and asked if I could take his picture. He agreed and then we talked. His name was Matthew and he had just moved to Helendale from Missouri. This was his first time at Del Taco, so I asked

what he thought of the place. Matthew smiled broadly and replied, “After eating here, I’ll never go to Taco Bell again.” His answer surprised me because I had just been thinking that the loneliest place in Barstow on a Wednesday night must be Taco Bell.

Coincidence? Maybe. Uncanny for sure. But the three DTs in Barstow are unlike any other fast-food restaurant. CJ explained it best when he shared a story about when he was in Victorville to conduct some business and he was wearing his Del Taco jacket. A woman saw this and commented on it. She asked if he was from one of the Victorville Del Tacos, and he replied, “No, mam, Barstow.” She suddenly cheered up and said, “I wish I could go to Barstow every day for lunch.”

Lucky us. We can and we do. What can be found at any of the three Del Tacos daily is good food, good service, and good people. Especially good people and amazing customers. The stories about them and their loyalty to what Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson started in Yermo in 1964 are numerous, but the common thread that weaves through them all is that, of the many Del Tacos in the western half of the forty-eight, the three in Barstow are simply the best.