EXHIBIT
1



Press
Release
dated
October 6,
2000



CARROLS
CORPORATION
TO ACQUIRE
TACO
CABANA,
INC.



SYRACUSE,
NY and SAN
ANTONIO,
TX
(October
6, 2000)--Carrols
Corporation
and Taco
Cabana,
Inc.
(NASDAQ-TACO)
jointly
announced
today that
they have
entered
into a
definitive
Agreement
and Plan
of Merger
under
which
Carrols
Corporation
would
purchase,
for cash,
all of the
outstanding
common
shares of
Taco
Cabana,
Inc. at a
price of
$9.04 per
share, or
a total of
approximately
$105
million
for the
11.6
million
common
shares
outstanding.  
The total
transaction
is valued
at
approximately
$152
million
including
the
purchase
of the
outstanding
shares,
employee
stock
options
and the
assumption
of Taco
Cabana's
outstanding
debt which
is
approximately
$42
million.

Completion
of the
transaction
is subject
to
approval
of Taco
Cabana's
shareholders,
expiration
or
termination
of the
applicable
waiting
period
under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino
Antitrust
Improvements
Act of
1976 and
funding
under
Carrols'
commitment
from its
senior
lender. 
Carrols
has
secured a
commitment
for senior
debt
financing
for the
transaction
from Chase
Manhattan
Bank. 
It is
subject to
customary
closing
conditions. 
Taco
Cabana
also
announced
that it
has
amended
its
stockholder
rights
plan to
provide
that
Carrols
will not
be deemed
an
"acquiring
person"
in
connection
with the
proposed
merger and
that the
stockholder
rights
plan will
not be
triggered
as a
result of
the
proposed
transaction.

Alan
Vituli,
Chairman
and CEO of
Carrols
Corporation,
stated,
"With
the
acquisition
of 
Taco
Cabana we
will have our
feet
firmly
planted in
one of the
most
dynamic
segments
of the
restaurant
industry:
the quick
casual
Latin
segment. 
Taco
Cabana has
a great
management
team and
an
operating
culture
what will
meld well
with our
existing
business. 
Similar to
Carrols'
Pollo
Tropical
brand,
Taco
Cabana is
dominant
in its
trading
areas and
well
positioned
to
leverage
its core
attributes."

Vituli
further
stated,
"Inasmuch
as Carrols 
relies in
part upon
the debt
markets to
provide
capital
for its
growth,
the
diversification
from
adding
Taco
Cabana
will
provide
greater
financial
stability
and serve
to offset
potential
short-term
challenges
to
profitability
that could
occur with
any one of
the three
brands."

Stephen
Clark,
President
and CEO
of 
Taco
Cabana,
Inc.,
stated,
"We
believe
that the
interests
of our
shareholders
and
employees
are best
served by
this
transaction. 
Our team
has worked
diligently
to produce
the
outstanding
results we
have
posted for
the past
few years,
yet the
public
equity
markets
have not
responded
to these
improvements. 
We are
excited by
the
prospect
of working
closely
with the
experienced
and
well-respected
group of
operators
that
Carrols
has
assembled."

Taco
Cabana,
headquartered
in San
Antonio,
pioneered
the
Mexican
patio cafe
concept
with its
first
restaurant
in 1978
and
currently
operates
and
franchises
a total of
126
restaurants
system-wide.

Carrols
Corporation,
which is
privately
owned, is
one of the
top 50
restaurant
companies
in the
U.S. and
currently
operates
400
restaurants
in 14
states. 
It is one
of the
largest
franchisees
of Burger
King
restaurants
in the
United
states
with 354
Burger
Kings
located in
13
Northeastern,
Midwestern
and
Southeastern
states. 
Carrols
also owns
and
operates
46 Pollo
Tropical
restaurants
in South
and
Central
Florida,
and
franchises
23 Pollo
Tropical
restaurants
in Puerto
Rico and
Ecuador.

This
report
contains
certain
statements,
including
statements
regarding
the
conditions
to the
merger as
well as
the
approval
of the
proposed
transaction
by various
parties,
that are
forward-looking
statements
that
represent
the
expectations
or beliefs
of both
Taco
Cabana and 
Carrols
concerning
future
results. 
Investors
are
cautioned
that
reliance
on
forward-looking
statements
involves
risks and
uncertainties,
and
although
Taco
Cabana and
Carrols
believe
that the
assumptions
on which
the
forward-looking
statements
contained
herein are
reasonable,
any of
those
assumptions
could
prove to
be
inaccurate
and, as a
result,
the
forward-looking
statements
based upon
those
assumptions
also could
be
incorrect. 
Investors
are
referred 
to the
full
discussion
of risks
and
uncertainties
associated
with
forward-looking
statements
contained
in both
the Taco
Cabana
Inc. and
Carrols
Corporation
filings
with the
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission.



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