Del Taco Comes To Southern Oregon

Background: Originally published December 20, 2006. Roseburg now has Jack In The Box, Del Taco, and Sonic Drive-In.

     Growing up in Oregon, I initially didn't understand why some people experience a craze for Del Taco. One Medford man interviewed for a KOBI-TV news story on December 11th said he traveled to Redding, California three times a month just to satisfy his need for Del Taco!
     My newsroom co-workers who lived in California explained to me the obsession with Del Taco: It is the only fast-food chain that offers both American and Mexican favorites. Where else can you go at 4:00 in the morning and order both a burrito and French fries? (I would argue Jack In The Box sells both items 24 hours a day, although some might say their American and Mexican menu is not as diverse as Del Taco.)
     Medford is becoming a haven for fast-food franchises found nowhere else in the region. Medford had Jack In The Box long before Jack ventured north to Roseburg and elsewhere. Sonic Drive-In arrived in Medford this past year. And now, Del Taco has opened its doors in town, the only Del Taco location between Albany and Redding.
     Meanwhile, a new Jack In The Box created a buzz in Grants Pass. Jack already has a restaurant in that city. But the new restaurant on seventh street is the FIRST in Oregon, California, or Nevada to feature the new "big bang" look. High-end chairs, a new interior design, and two plasma screen TV sets playing "Jack TV," are among the new amenities inside the new Jack In The Box.
     Three Grants Pass police officers were directing traffic during the restaurant's second day in business, and the drive-thru line was backed around the building, while the restaurant lobby was partly empty inside. I'm still puzzled. Why would people wait in an extremely long drive-thru line, when the INSIDE of the restaurant is what's new? Why didn't the drive-thru fans simply go to the other Jack In The Box in town?