Alvarado Buys 10 Colorado Taco Bells

The Basinger family's ColCal Colorado Inc. has sold its 10 Taco Bell restaurants in western Colorado to Denver-based Alvarado Restaurant Nation.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Photograph of a low single-story roadside commercial building in an empty lot beneath a red-brown mesa in a western Colorado high desert valley. — The Basinger family's ColCal Colorado Inc. sold its 10 Taco Bell restaurants in Mesa, Delta and Montrose counties to Denver-based Alvarado Restaurant Nation, effective October 21. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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ColCal Colorado Inc., owned by the Basinger family, sold its 10 Taco Bell restaurants in Mesa, Delta and Montrose counties to Alvarado Restaurant Nation. The sale transition officially took effect October 21, 2026.

Why it matters

The transaction transfers ownership of a regional Taco Bell franchise group in western Colorado to a Denver-based operator that already runs more than 200 Taco Bell and KFC locations. It marks the close of a franchise run that began in the late 1970s.

The 10 restaurants are located in Grand Junction (five), Montrose (two), Fruita, Clifton and Delta, against an Alvarado portfolio of more than 200 Taco Bell and KFC sites. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The players

Ken Basinger

Ken Basinger is the longtime Taco Bell franchisee who led the Basinger family's ColCal Colorado Inc. since becoming sole owner in 2012, after joining the brand in 1977.

Alvarado Restaurant Nation

Alvarado Restaurant Nation is a Denver-based franchise operator that owns and runs more than 200 Taco Bell and KFC locations.

The details

Ken Basinger began his Taco Bell career in 1977 and became sole owner of the franchise in 2012 before the sale to Alvarado took effect. Alvarado, which opened its first Taco Bell in downtown Denver in 1984, now takes over the western Colorado locations.

1977: Ken Basinger starts his career with Taco Bell.
1984: Alvarado Restaurant Nation opens its first Taco Bell in downtown Denver.
2012: Ken Basinger becomes sole owner of the franchise.
October 21, 2026: The sale transition officially takes effect.

Market Landscape

The transfer fits a pattern of smaller family-run Taco Bell franchises being absorbed into large multi-brand operators like Alvarado, which already runs more than 200 Taco Bell and KFC locations. The consolidation concentrates ownership of regional fast-food units among fewer operators.

Customers of the 10 western Colorado Taco Bell locations will now be served by Alvarado Restaurant Nation rather than the Basinger family's ColCal Colorado Inc. The extraction does not indicate changes to menu, pricing or hours.

The takeaway

Franchise ownership changes like this can alter who operates a familiar local restaurant without changing the brand itself, so customers may notice operator changes more than menu changes. Watching for updates from the new operator is the practical way to track what changes next.