Longtime Orchards-area business Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant & Lounge is being purchased by the Portland-based Original Taco House chain, but the staff and menu won’t change under the operation of its new owners.
Brothers Jeff and Nate Waddle, long-standing owners of regional restaurants, expect to buy Cisco’s from Derick Sellers and his mom, Ruby Sellers, in a transaction set to close next month. Cisco’s originally opened in 1977 at 10820 N.E. Coxley Drive. The Sellers have owned the restaurant since 1992 and now hope to pursue other interests, said Derick Sellers, 52.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s time to get out,” he said.
Sellers said he works seven days a week overseeing Cisco’s staff of 16 employees in the restaurant, which opens at 11 a.m. daily.
The new owners will retain the same employees when the restaurant changes hands, around Jan. 3, said Nate Waddle
“They’ve got a good staff,” said Waddle, who expects to change Cisco’s name to The Original Taco House.
It will be the third location for the family-owned restaurant chain and its food distribution business, which brings in about $4 million annually.
Two existing Original Taco Houses are in Portland at 3255 NE 82nd Ave. and at 3550 S.E. Powell Blvd.
The Waddles also own and operate Portland-based Annex Food Co., a distribution business that prepares food and supplies the family’s restaurant chain and other entities, such as Portland Public Schools, Nate Waddle said.
Waddle’s grandfather launched the business in 1960, eventually handing it down to his son Russell Waddle, who for many years also owned the now-closed Waddle’s Restaurant off Interstate 5 at Jantzen Beach. Russell Waddle died in 2008.
Nate Waddle said his company’s food distribution business helps the Original Taco House chain remain competitive, despite a heavy influx of national restaurant chains to the Portland-Vancouver area in recent years.
“The chains have deeper pockets for advertising, but we have longevity,” he said. “Plus, we can make changes quickly. If something is wrong, any customer can call us at any time.”
