Taco USA opened its doors at 7 Switchbud Place in the Grogan's Mill Shopping Center in The Woodlands in February, but the history of the restaurant goes back much further than those five months, as The Woodlands eatery has resurrected a seemingly extinct restaurant chain several decades old.

The first Taco USA opened in Del Rio, Texas in 1976 by Pizza Management International, one of the largest pizza franchisers in the world, said Jeff Rhame, the owner of the new location. PMI hoped to capitalize on the "taco craze" in the 70s, Rhame said, opening up West Texas locations in Victoria, Kingsville and Nacodoches, a location run by executive Ottis Byers which opened in 1978.

Although the other Taco USA locations closed, Byers' location flourished. He later purchased the rights to Taco USA from PMI, opened up a second Nacodoches location and a third in Lufkin in 1984, Rhame said. However, Byers sold the rights to another buyer in the early 1990s, who made changes to the restaurants, and Taco USA went out of business altogether 18 months later.

Rhame said working at Taco USA was his first job at the age of 15, where he began working in December 1985 and later worked with his best friend Chad Byers, Ottis Byers' youngest son. Rhame left in 1987 and became a financial advisor, but he and Chad Byers had discussed the idea of reopening Taco USA since it closed its doors.

"We had that conversation a thousand times probably over the years, and then last year he called me," Rhame said. "He called me and moved here into The Woodlands, and we scouted locations and found this location."

Taco USA's menu includes some recipes from the old restaurants, but Rhame said he has made several changes like in expanding the traditional taco sauce recipe to add a spicier version and a jalapeno green chile sauce. Rhame even introduced three new recipes recently which customers have enjoyed: creamy jalapeno, avocado poblano and red pepper ranch.

But the changes go beyond sauces. Rhame said the new-look Taco USA introduced a fish taco, quesadillas, new custom burgers and a healthy turkey taco alternative. They also eliminated the drive-thru atmosphere of the old stores because of the quality of the food and the time it takes to prepare.

"We make ours fresh," he said. "We're not taking a package of frozen meat and thawing it out and serving it. We've got to make it fresh everyday several times a day."

Addressing what Rhame believes is in large demand, the restaurant will begin serving breakfast tacos seven days a week beginning July 19 from 7:30-10:30 a.m. Breakfast tacos all have egg and cheese, while different varieties include chorizo, potato, bacon, fajita beef and fajita chicken. A distinctive offering in The Woodlands, Rhame said, Taco USA also offers a "bring your own beer" policy, which he believes will be beneficial for customers during the upcoming football season.

Taco USA features daily specials for customers hoping to save money, offering $2.25 fish tacos on Monday, $1.12 tacos on Tuesday, $1 off children's meals on Wednesday with balloon artists and face painting, a $6.99 burger, fries and drink combination on Thursday and $1 off fajita tacos on Friday.

Since opening the restaurant, Rhame said he has been approached with the prospect of franchising Taco USA, just as Ottis Beyers was decades ago. However, Rhame said he is more concerned with providing quality customer service today than in expanding in the future.

"That's in the future," he said. "Take care of the customer in front of you, and everything else will take care of itself. Deliver good food, give good service and the customers will come back. And that's all that matters."