Feb. 22, 2019

The final day to eat at one of the oldest Taco John’s in Sioux Falls is the upcoming Taco Tuesday.

The restaurant at 1609 E. 10th St. will close at 10 p.m. that day. The new location across the intersection will open at 6:30 a.m. March 1.

The Taco John’s at 1420 W. 41st St. opened in 1973 and was followed later in the year by the 10th Street restaurant, the 44th in the country.

“The red tin building is still in there somewhere,” said Ted Miller, vice president of operations for the franchise group. Four additions have been made to the original building, which had only a walk-in counter for service.

“The building is tired and ready to retire,” Miller said.

The property is for sale or lease. In addition to the restaurant site, the franchise group owns a vacant lot to the west and a house to the south that could be used for redevelopment.

The replacement restaurant, which is the first tenant in a new retail center on the former Communication Service for the Deaf campus, features the brand’s new logo.

“That’s the first one in the country with it on it,” Miller  said.

While there are new digital display boards, that’s as far as the high-tech touches go, he said. Customers won’t find kiosks for placing orders.

“We still like to talk to our customers.”

While the new restaurant takes up a smaller footprint than the older site, the amount of seating is comparable, Miller said.

The retail center has room for additional tenants, and while another lease hasn’t been signed yet, there has been interest, said Scott Blount of Lloyd Cos.

Miller also offered an update on the Taco John’s that will be built at 26th Street and Sycamore Avenue on the site of a former Pizza Hut.

“I get calls and emails on that every day,” he said. “It’s still happening. We just didn’t get in the ground … this fall. We will be the first thing in the spring.”

Editor’s note: The opening time was updated after the article was published to 6:30 a.m.