A new Taco John's location in town scheduled to open Thursday, Feb. 8, will offer more than just Mexican fare.
After numerous years in the location along 15th Street, the restaurant is combining with Good Times Burgers, offering hungry customers the standard Taco John's menu along with chicken, fries, onion rings, burgers and frozen custard.
Preferred Restaurant Group owner Mike Sartwell was looking to relocate Taco John's and saw the opportunity when Taco John's International started a relationship with Good Times Burgers. It took a while to identify the property and the city was great to work with through the whole process, Sartwell said.
"We really like the visibility," Sartwell added of the new location. "In the old location, we were kind of tucked behind another building. The facility that we're in is antiquated. Taco John's has been in the community for a long time. We feel very good about the Dickinson community and we wanted to make a long-term investment."
The new location is at least twice the size of the other restaurant, offering seating for almost 100 patrons and two pick-up windows, Sartwell said. Two ordering stations and two separate menu boards allow customers to choose their meal at more than one register. This also allows employees to take two orders at a time.
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"This menu is pretty broad," Sartwell said.
The burgers are made from Coleman natural hormone-free beef and the custard is "absolutely awesome," Sartwell said. The custard is prepared every two hours in the restaurant to ensure freshness, he added. Vanilla is always on hand, along with a flavor of the day.
"It's a very top-of-the-line premium ice cream," Sartwell said.
Although Taco John's has a great customer base, sometimes having more than one option for food items is the decision maker for families, Sartwell said.
"People have been very supportive and we hope to give them reason to come," Sartwell added. "We just hope they like the new concept as much as they liked Taco John's."
The old Taco John's location is up for sale. Many of the employees moved from one location to the other and combined with new hires create a total of approximately 40 employees.
This is the third combined location in the state, with other locations in Bismarck and Williston. Preferred Restaurant Group is based in Minot and has been a franchisee of Taco John's for about 30 years, Sartwell said. The Group owns eight restaurants in North Dakota, Montana and Idaho.
Taco John's and Good Times Burgers is located at 180 14th St. W. in Dickinson. Hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
