Chockstone's Technology Doubles Taco Bueno's Gift Card Sales at Corporate and New Franchise Locations in '05

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2006--Chockstone Inc., provider of the world's most innovative stored value, customer loyalty and payment processing solutions, announced today that client Taco Bueno nearly doubled its gift card volume last year with Chockstone's card-based technology over the previous year's paper-based solution. The company, which has locations in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, unveiled the new offering in October 2005 in each of its 145 stores, including its first-ever franchise units.

"We knew rolling out a paper-based solution to our new franchises, as well as our corporate locations, would've been impossible to manage, but we couldn't have anticipated the astronomical response we received to our initial electronic gift card offering in just a few months," said Tim Collins, IT Director at Taco Bueno. "We have an extremely loyal customer base at Taco Bueno and it's our goal to offer those customers a variety of purchasing options. Chockstone helped us deliver, implementing its program in all of our stores in just three weeks. In addition, their technology enabled our cashiers to complete card-based purchases with a single transaction, keeping our lines moving and cash registers humming throughout the holiday season."

“We knew rolling out a paper-based solution to our new franchises, as well as our corporate locations, would've been impossible to manage, but we couldn't have anticipated the astronomical response we received to our initial electronic gift card offering in just a few months”

Chockstone's Single Swipe technology enables a single payment terminal to process gift, loyalty, and credit cards, keeping transaction time to a minimum. Taco Bueno also leverages Chockstone's Gateway technology, which seamlessly interfaces with the company's real-time reporting tool to deliver data-rich information about customers and their purchasing preferences. The program is complimented by Chockstone's retailer-branded website, which provides consumers an easy, online tool to purchase cards for themselves or others, reload and combine cards, and check current balances.

"Our deep experience in the restaurant and quick-service industries have allowed us to develop the ultimate card-based solution to scale to the corporate environment, a franchise model or a combination of the two," said Dan Devlin, Chockstone's chairman and CTO. "Taco Bueno is a company that recognized the value of combining its move to a new business model with a move to the purchasing model of the future. We at Chockstone congratulate them on their phenomenal success."

About Chockstone

Chockstone provides the most flexible and innovative stored value solutions available to merchants today. Designed to increase customer loyalty and drive profitability, Chockstone's programs are used by leading brands in the retail, restaurant, and convenience store markets. Headquartered in Portland, OR, Chockstone, Inc., is a privately-held corporation. To learn more about Chockstone's products and services, visit www.chockstone.com.

About Taco Bueno

Taco Bueno is a Mexican quick-service restaurant that offers Fast Casual Quality at Fast Food Price and Convenience(TM). Founded in 1967 in Abilene, Texas, Taco Bueno today boasts 145 locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas. Find out more about Taco Bueno by logging on to www.tacobueno.com.