The Jimboy’s story Jim and Margaret Knudson were partners in all things, but when it came to the menu, Jim was in charge.
How a family built a business empire one taco at a time by Janelle Bitker
Photo courtesy of Karen Knudson-freeman
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95-year-old woman slouched in the corner of Jimboy’s Tacos attracted the attention of a younger man. He stopped abruptly, crispy taco in hand, and swiveled around to get a good look. “Are you Mrs. Jimboy?” he asked, eying her name tag. She nodded, and the customer lit up as if he’d just met his favorite celebrity. And, in a sense, Margaret Knudson is a very important celebrity, though not one most fans would recognize on the street. “I had my first taco in 1989 at Denio’s auction in Roseville,” the man said. “Jimboy’s has been my favorite since I was a kid. I’ve been eating them for 30 years.” This guy’s devotion to Jimboy’s Tacos is pretty standard around the
region. Jimboy’s isn’t just a fast-food chain. It’s the local fast-food chain. Reno residents are fiercely proud of Jimboy’s—after all, it started not too far away in a Lake Tahoe trailer. Fueling the love: Jimboy’s has remained family owned for more than 60 years. Jim Knudson, a.k.a. “Jimboy,” founded the company with his wife, Margaret, back when they were Grass Valley residents. They went from selling tacos out of that trailer in 1954 to now operating 38 locations spread across Nevada, California and Texas, including five in the Reno area. That particular moment with Margaret and the younger man took place last October in Woodland, California. It was during one of the most important launch parties in Jimboy’s history, and Margaret
excitedly arrived wearing matching yellow attire and sparkly glasses. The evening marked the official debut of the new Jimboy’s—contemporary-meetsvintage, with festive fonts, Edison light bulbs and shout-outs to the company’s Lake Tahoe beginnings. The look is a far cry from the crumbling, pseudoMexican-cantina interior of some of its oldest locations. Did Margaret ever think Jimboy’s would grow so much? Was it what Jim, who passed away several years ago, always wanted? “We had hoped,” she said. “Jim once said, ‘You think we’ll ever go nationwide?’ We were encouraged—the way it was going, better and better with time.” With that, the festivities segued into business with an announcement
from Margaret’s daughter and Jimboy’s president, Karen Knudson-Freeman. With her frizzy hair and a casual, country drawl, Karen doesn’t immediately register as a high-powered executive of a major company—but Jimboy’s does things a little differently. “If you’ve noticed, we’ve got kind of a new look,” she said to the crowd, sweeping her arm across the room and all of its fresh signage. “It says, ‘The Original American Taco.’ That’s really what we’ve always been. Back in 1954, nobody even knew what a taco was.” That statement should not be taken literally. Still, “The Original American Taco” is certainly catchy. And new slogans, logos and designs are rarely purely about aesthetics. A dramatic rebrand like this is a signal to the world: Jimboy’s Tacos is coming. “I’ll be happy when I see a Jimboy’s sign on the moon,” Karen told the RN&R. “I really want to see it go everywhere, and I think it can. Whether I’ll be the one to take it there, I don’t know. But at least I’ll get started.”
a history lesson Ah, the 1950s: Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe were pop royalty, the space race was just beginning, and The Flintstones wasn’t even on the air yet. And, in Northern Nevada and Northern California, many residents were just tasting their first tacos. Jim and Margaret tried this new food at a friend’s house in Grass Valley. Today, Margaret doesn’t remember the exact contents of that taco, but that didn’t matter so much as the idea of a taco. A tortilla? Holding stuff in it? Consider Jim hooked. He began selling his own version at his Grass Valley restaurant Jimmy’s 49er Cafe at a time when people still pronounced “taco” as “tay-ko.” And a whole steak dinner cost 75 cents.
“THE JIMBOY’S STOrY” continued on page 12
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