interesting, great intel, thanks.
When Del Taco and Taco Bell put fried chicken in a tortilla the Knock-off Wars jumped the shark for me.
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Ace Burgers in Alhambra knocks off the spicy chicken sandwich from McDonald’s in Shanghai and the spicy chicken wings from KFC. Chandavkl's Blog: Chinese Restaurant Mysteries Part III - Ace Burgers
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Ummm……. This may be even worse:
Remember the cronut craze?
I feel like Pepe’s is more a knock off in name because so many places have been making birria “red tacos.” Teddy’s was probably the first to call them that, but Pepe’s is much better!
https://www.foodtalkcentral.com/t/october-2020-rundown/12113/143?u=glazedonut
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A Teddy’s just opened in our ‘hood (Miracle Mile). We were pretty excited. The first go round was really good but the second time we detected a fishy-ness like the meat was starting to spoil. Blech. Team Pepe’s!
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Fwiw I felt some of the copycats were way better than the OG, in particular the version at Mr Holmes Bakehouse
Glad to hear Pepe’s is good! The OG Teddy’s was awesome but they’ve expanded so much and I think overall quality has declined. Funny how that happens.
Branding them specifically Red Tacos is a pretty brazen knockoff - no one else does that - but if we’re talking about the menu and the process then I guess they’re all knock offs of whichever stand in Tijuana did it first…
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DK’s still has em 
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True about the name - I think I’ve seen a few other “[fill in the blank] Red Tacos” trucks around town too. It’s definitely a clever name, gets those IG foodies out.
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Had no idea, but too bad it’s no bueno!
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Yah, it could be a one-time thing. It was in the morning about an hour after opening and the employees could’ve re-warmed yesterday’s meat. I messaged the company to alert them but so far no response.
Like @Srsly said, expanding too fast can hurt. You can’t be everywhere and have to rely on employees for quality control. If they’re careless, well…
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La Michoacana is becoming the new Albertos with knock off imposters.
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I’m done!!! Rubio’s is a regional order-at-the-counter chain based on fairly ‘authentic’ Mexican staples. One more to get into the crispy chicken wars. I guess it just emphasizes how tough the last 18 months have been.
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Haha! I was thinking more along the lines of Richard Blais is getting into the fast-food, knock-off meets uber-fusion business. 
Tough 18 months, indeed.
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“Street tacos” is an instant red flag IMO. Not to mention knocking off Taco Bell…
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How about ‘Adventure-inspired street tacos’?
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Ah, Taco Bell, an OG knock-off of Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino.
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