A group of Nashville investors is stepping in to take over San Antonio Taco Company, the Tex-Mex staple that has fed Vanderbilt-area regulars for more than four decades.
The buyers include Edley’s Restaurant Group founder Will Newman along with Prentiss Nelson and Chenault Sanders of Blackbird Capital. The group confirmed Tuesday it plans to purchase SATCO, located at 416 21st Ave. South, in a deal expected to close August 3.
SATCO has been a fixture of the Nashville restaurant scene since 1984, when Vanderbilt graduates Robin Delmer and Richard Patton opened it after moving from San Antonio, Texas. Current owners Hunter Atkins and Sandy Haury, also Vanderbilt alumni, took the reins in 1990 and have run the restaurant ever since.
Atkins and Haury said they started searching for a buyer after longtime manager Robert Wilder announced he plans to retire this year. They pointed to the local investor group’s familiarity with SATCO’s culture, staff and customer base as a major reason for choosing them.
Newman said the new ownership intends to hold onto what has made SATCO a Nashville institution while looking for ways to modernize and grow the business. Both the buyers and sellers emphasized that any changes will come only after they spend time talking with employees and longtime customers.
Terms of the sale were not disclosed. For now, the restaurant is expected to keep serving up its Tex-Mex menu through the ownership transition and beyond.