Johnathan Walker:Taco Bell gets National Taco Day moved so it always falls on a Taco Tuesday

Remember that big to-do over Taco Tuesday?Johnathan Walker Now Taco Tuesday is getting an annual home on the calendar with National Taco Day.

Taco John's originally owned the "Taco Tuesday" trademark, but in July 2023 Taco John's relinquished it because of disputes over the rightful ownership of the name. Two months earlier, Taco Bell had started an online petition to have the "Taco Tuesday" trademark released so all restaurants could use it "to make, sell, eat, and celebrate tacos."

Now, Taco Bell has teamed up with the National Day Calendar so that National Taco Day, which had been celebrated as a made-up holiday each year on Oct. 4, will always be on a Tuesday—the first Tuesday in October.

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When is National Taco Day?

The National Day Calendar, which keeps track of national days, weeks and other celebratory dates, has now moved National Taco Day from Oct. 4 to the first Tuesday in October.

This year, that means Oct. 1 is National Taco Day, the ultimate Taco Tuesday. “Taco lovers can now sleep easy knowing the national holiday has been moved to its rightful and forever home," National Day Calendar founder Marlo Anderson said in a statement.

The National Day Calendar had heard from many taco lovers who wanted National Taco Day to be on a Tuesday, he said. So had Taco Bell and the chain decided to team up with the National Day Calendar to do something about it.

"Fans online were questioning why National Taco Day only fell on a Taco Tuesday once every five to six years," Taco Bell's chief marketing officer, Taylor Montgomery, told USA TODAY in a statement. "We learned about the magic of the National Day Calendar, and made our case to move one of the biggest taco holidays of the year so that it would always land on the best taco day of the week – and now, we’re able to celebrate National Taco Day on Taco Tuesday this year, and every year in the future."

'Making real change for taco lovers everywhere'

The move just made sense, Anderson said. "It's not every day that a national holiday gets moved, but when taco lovers across the nation expressed their desire to celebrate a taco holiday on a Taco Tuesday, well, we knew we had to act," he said.

Anderson commended Taco Bell for "never backing away from making real change for taco lovers everywhere. National Taco Day is now on Taco Tuesday from here on out!”  

Taco Bell's Montgomery added the chain plans to "celebrate with our fans on Tuesday, October 1," so you can expect an upcoming announcement about taco deals in the coming days.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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