Taco Doggo

Originally called Chalupa Perro (and still called that in Mexico), Taco Doggo is a large multinational chain of fast food restaurants that is quickly becoming one of the most popular fast food brands in the United States and Mexico and has a foothold in many other countries across the globe. It just might be the restaurant that topples the O'Heralds burger chain as the biggest restaurant company in the world. The restaurant served almost four billion customers as of last year and made over five billion dollars in revenue.

The menu varies greatly by country. In Mexico, Chalupa Perro serves more traditional Mexican street food from across the country, with offerings like Tamales, Tostadas, Molletes, Chalupas, and more. In America, the food is much more Mexican-inspired than anything else with offerings like Chimichangas and hard-shelled tacos. American restaurants also offer "Taco Dogs" which include either a beef hot dog or a bratwurst rolled in a flour tortilla and filled with various ingredients.

The CEO and owner of the company, Ichtaca Francisco, is a somewhat eccentric and mysterious man. His public appearances are rather rare and when he appears, he always has a dog by his side, which happens to be a Xoloitzcuintle (or Mexican Hairless Dog, or just Xolo), the same dog breed that is always used in company promotional material. Usually his Chief Operating Officer (COO) makes the majority of public appearances and attends high level meetings while Ichtaca generally avoids them all.

Chalupa Perro was founded in Mexico City in 1958 as a street food vendor, selling the basics like Tamales and Chalupas. By 1963, they went from a taco stand to a brick building and greatly expanded their menu. It was also here that their first logo was designed, of an excited cartoon Xoloitzcuintle. The company quickly took off, opening up sixty locations from Juarez to Cancun. Most of their locations were really just food trucks that drove around town. While many menu options remained the same, each location heavily catered to local tastes.

In 1972, Chalupa Perro opened their first restaurant in El Paso, Texas. Within a few years they had thirty locations across the state. Revenue was tolerable but not great. Then in 1974, a commercial about the restaurant featuring a talking Xolo saving people from bland food. The company also redid their American menu, adding hot dogs and for lack of a better term, made their menu more Mexican-inspired than actually Mexican. They also introduced a line of relentless and increasingly spicy hot sauces to compliment their food. This caused the company's business to skyrocket, causing them to make record revenue year after year.

By 1980, Chalupa Perro had over 400 locations across the southwest. The company continued to expand through the 80's and 90's. They opened their first international location in Japan in 1996. In the early 2000's, all locations outside Mexico rebranded as "Taco Doggo" with a new logo. They expanded their American menu again and dropped some less popular items. This redesign brought in even more revenue and allowed the company to expand from around 1200 locations in the year 2000 to over 5000 locations in the year 2010, and over 7000 by the year 2020.

Today Taco Doggo is a colossal juggernaut in the fast food business. Its scrappy mascot is an instantly recognizable global icon, and has recently been seen on all sorts of merchandise, from shirts and hats to being featured in multiple popular video games.

The company has come under criticism that it has strayed too far from its roots, but the company insists its heart remains in Mexico, where they still operate hundreds of restaurants and food trucks. The company still runs commercials of a humble Xolo saving people from the global menace that is bland food.

Tlilchicoatl is the company Mascot and the very first Chalupa Perro logo from the 1960's is based on his appearance. Tlilchicoatl was said to be an easy going dog, was friendly with children, and always had a somewhat goofy appearance. He made constant appearances in various Chalupa Perro commercials through the 70's, depicted as a mystical talking dog sent by the Gods to bring delicious food to the masses.

He was always seen by the CEO's side until the early 80's when he mysteriously disappeared and was later confirmed to have passed away. He already lived well past the normal lifespan for a Xoloitzcuintle (12-15 years), so most people assumed that he died of natural causes.

Since then, four other dogs have been used as the company mascot in his place, all are also Xoloitzcuintle's. They often make appearances in Taco Doggo commercials, though unlike Tlilchicoatl they are never seen talking. This has given rise to conspiracy theories that Tlilchicoatl could actually talk...