El Charrito El Charrito El Charrito is a brand of Tex-Mex TV dinners. The word is Spanish for "little cowboy". The brand was introduced in 1980 by the Campbell Taggart company, who owned the El Chico restaurant chain. Though its entrees included taquitos, queso, and beef enchiladas, it was also known for the uniquely named Saltillo Dinner, a three-compartment dinner consisting of two enchiladas (one each beef and cheese), Spanish rice and refried beans. In 1995 the parent company became Earthgrains and chose to focus on baked goods, selling the El Charrito brand to Don Miguel Mexican Foods, now a part of
Chevys Fresh Mex the Long Beach, California-based parent company of El Torito Restaurants and Acapulco Mexican Restaurants. The acquisitions gave Real Mex Restaurants claim as the largest operator of full-service Mexican restaurants in the United States. Real Mex subsequently passed through bankruptcy in 2011-2012, and finally in 2018 when Real Mex was rebranded as Xperience XRG. 14 more underperforming Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants, mostly in northern California, were closed on December 26, 2016. Among these were the South Lake Tahoe, Modesto, and Fresno locations in California. As of March 2017, there were 37 Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants located throughout the United States, mostly