Chicago restaurant tycoon Larry Levy has bought Lake Forest-based Del Taco in a deal valued at $500 million.

Levy is a well-regarded restaurateur who made his fortune in the food-service industry. In a conference call Thursday, Levy and Del Taco executives said they plan to expand the chain in “emerging and established” markets. They did not give specifics, and declined to take questions after the conference call.

Levy said Del Taco falls into the “center of our bullseye” with its 50-year history of serving inexpensive made-to-order foods.

“You can’t beat Del Taco food, which is fresh and high quality,” Levy said. “We’re are buying an iconic restaurant company at a very good price.”

Levy Acquisition Corp. is a family-run firm known on Wall Street as a “blank check company,” formed to pool funds to finance mergers. When the Del Taco sale closes in June, Levy Acquisition – a publicly-traded company – will change its name Del Taco Restaurants Inc. Del Taco will convert to a publicly traded company and trade under the NASDAQ ticker, LEVY.

Del Taco’s headquarters will remain in Lake Forest. Paul Murphy will continue to run the chain as chief executive.

Murphy and other Del Taco executives said Del Taco has focused the last two years marketing the brand’s fresh fast-food menu. Restaurants have also introduced premium burritos and bowls in an effort to attract diners who have fled to fresh-Mex chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill.

“We have always offered the food people crave at a great value, but in the last few years we changed the conversation,” Murphy said.

Levy is the co-founder of Levy Restaurants, which operates concession stands at arenas including Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Park, both in Chicago. Levy also owns popular Chicago restaurants including Spiaggia – one of President Barack Obama’s favorite restaurants in the city.

As part of the merger, Levy’s family and other investors will make a private investment of $120 million. Levy will become chairman of the board and will work with Del Taco management to oversee the company’s growth.

Despite Levy’s vast hospitality experience, restaurant strategist Dennis Lombardi pointed out he has never operated a food chain the size of Del Taco, which has 550 restaurants in 16 states.

“They certainly have limited service experience, but nothing like having a 500 plus West Coast QSR (quick service restaurant) chain,” said Lombardi, of WD Partners in Ohio. “If it is not completely new to them, in terms of service mode and cuisine, it is new to them in scale of operations.”

Talks of a Del Taco sale, which has had a series of different owners over the past decade, have been rumored for months.

Del Taco is the third largest Mexican fast-food chain in the nation, in terms of sales, according to Technomic, a restaurant consulting firm. Irvine-based Taco Bell and Chiptole rank No. 1 and 2, with highersales.

Murphy said company-owned stores have posted 10 consecutive quarters of positive same-store sales, driven in part by “balanced traffic and check growth.” Same-store sales are an indicator of a restaurant’s financial health. Del Taco posted sales of $656.1 million in 2014, a 5.4 percent increase from 2013.

Levy grew a single Chicago delicatessen into an international food service company that generated over $1 billion in revenue. He sold Levy Restaurants in two stages, in 2000 and 2006.

Ed Hackbarth and David Jameson founded the first Del Taco in Yermo. The menu featured 19-cent tacos and 24-cent burgers. Roughly 300 of Del Taco’s 550 locations are company owned. The rest are operated by franchisees.

In recent months, Del Taco has announced franchise deals for new stores in Chicago and New Jersey.

Wires services contributed to this report