The LA-based group, which made its UK debut last year in London’s Notting Hill, is seeking £625,000 that will go towards new sites, design, fit-out costs, franchise support, tech systems, and strengthening head office operations to boost expansion.
At the time of writing the group had raised £624,709, equating to 99% of its target, from 65 investors.
This includes £600,000 from prominent investors Julian Mylchreest, executive vice chairman at Bank of America, and Tom Gordon, founder and CEO of Slim Chickens.
Trejo’s Tacos, which originally launched in Los Angeles in 2016 and now operates an estate of four sites across the US city, specialises in Cal-Mex cuisine, a fusion of traditional Mexican cooking and Californian culinary preferences that emphasises fresh, seasonal ingredients and lighter dishes.
The UK franchise, which is led by restaurateur Jerome Armit and film producer and financier Sean O’Kelly, serves a menu of tacos, as well as bowls, burritos, salads and appetisers.
According to the Crowdcube page, the Notting Hill restaurant has made over £1m in turnover in the last 12 months.
Speaking to Restaurant last year, Trejo, who has starred in numerous Hollywood films including Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn and Heat¸ said he hoped the brand’s presence in the UK would serve as the jumping off point for a larger Europe-wide rollout.
He also discussed finding a balance between being a restaurateur and an actor.
“A lot of people don’t even know me now as an actor now,” he said.
“But I’m still doing movies too. I split my time between the two, and I love doing both.
“Being in restaurants you work closely with people, which is one of the elements I really like about it.
“My work in the movies is amazing as it’s given me the chance to speak to younger generations, be it in schools, juvenile halls or prisons, and I get their attention. And when I talk to them, I don’t just speak about my film work, I speak to them about success and that includes my restaurant business.”