Our Story

In 1977, former President, Larry Durrett opened his first quick-service restaurant, Taco Plaza, in Jacksonville, Texas. Due to the success of this one store, he then opened four more restaurants over a span of 6 years in the following cities: Lufkin, Henderson, Longview, and Athens. In 1983 PepsiCo recognized that Taco Bell could be a dominant chain in Texas and the United States but for the presence of Taco Plaza. so Mr. Durrett decided to convert his locations to Taco Bell and kept building and buying locations along the way.

Today, Southern Multifoods, Inc. owns and operates 115 units, all being Taco Bells or at least having a Taco Bell component in them. Southern Multifoods, Inc. currently operates two Taco Bell/Long John Silver’s, and one hundred-thirteen Taco Bells.

We are alive to grow and we continue to pursue growth in every reasonable venue. Our principal focus for growth will be in East Texas as available, Fort Worth, and the periphery of Dallas along with Corpus Christi and the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Welcome to southern multifoods, inc. 

As I reflect back over the last forty-two years of our family business, I am grateful for my father’s leadership and vision for SMI. We will continue putting people before profits by practicing servant leadership. We all can expect SMI to grow organically, maintain the best assets on the block, and operate selflessly. We believe the customer’s experience will never exceed the team member’s experience and our customers will always be our lifeline. Thank you for your interest in SMI, and please let me know how I can assist you with your career at SMI.

Drew Durrett                                                                                                                             
President and CEO