Franchising

LeBron James teams up with Old El Paso to create fast casual concept

provided

February 22, 2022

NBA star LeBron James and Old El Paso have teamed up to create The Taco Shop by Old El Paso in Akron, Ohio.

Located inside House Three Thirty — the Lebron James Family Foundation's facility offering resources designed to change the trajectory for families in need, the restaurant will employ students and adults from LJFF's I PROMISE Program looking to gain hands-on work experience while serving the community, said Maria Jaramillo, unit director of General Mills Business at Old El Paso.

"We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with LJFF and the House Three Thirty community, because we know that meaningful connections are created while enjoying good food together," she said in the release. "Our hope is that the opening of the first-ever Taco Shop by Old El Paso restaurant will foster a new Taco Tuesday tradition among I PROMISE families and become something that they can look forward to with family and friends."

Although The Taco Shop by Old El Paso will host I PROMISE families Tuesday for an intimate gathering, it will formally open next year, featuring Old El Paso recipes, including burritos and quesadillas.

"Opening our own restaurant is a whole new territory for my Foundation that I'm really excited about," James said in the release. "What started as a weekly taco night for families living in our I PROMISE Village has grown into so much more with The Taco Shop by Old El Paso. It's incredible to now have a space where families can come together and share a meal while students and families also have the opportunity to gain important job training. We can't wait for these doors to open to the community."

Old El Paso and the LJFF have a long-standing partnership committed to bringing families together for taco night. LJFF first teamed up with Old El Paso to donate Taco Tuesday meal kits to families from the I PROMISE School and others in need at the start of the pandemic. The partnership expanded as Old El Paso became the official sponsor of I PROMISE Village Taco meals, donating meals for weekly community dinners, Taco Tuesday events and I PROMISE School monthly family feasts, according to the release.

The I PROMISE Program serves over 1,600 students and their families by providing them with the fundamental resources, wraparound supports and family programming they need for success in school and beyond.