Mr. Taco prepares for Lansing comeback

LANSING – Mr Taco, his iconic mustache and the red, all-meat burrito are coming back to Lansing.

Grand Rapids resident Bill Bonofiglo confirmed Tuesday he has plans to resurrect the restaurant's former location at 3122 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. A date for a re-opening hasn't been set.

"There are some sensitive things in the works that require a bit more time," said Bonofiglo, who promises to use original recipes for menu items. "Mr. Taco is going to re-open!"

Bonofiglo created a "closed" Mr. Taco Facebook group on Friday. It had 3,206 members by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Bonofiglo sent a message Monday to all group members that his family is "100% committed to bring back a Lansing icon" and intends to hold a past employee party inside "Mr. Taco HQ," a warehouse near the restaurant.

"Your support is inspiring us to move as fast as we can," Bonofiglo wrote.

Mr. Taco was started in Lansing in 1967 on Logan Street by Eugene Bonofiglo, Mark Eytcheson and Paul Coscarelli, Bill Bonofiglo said. Bill Bonofiglo is Eugene Bonofiglo's son.

There were four Greater Lansing locations. The last Mr. Taco restaurant in the area closed about nine years ago, Bill Bonofiglo said.

East Lansing resident Sheryl Eytcheson hopes the re-opening of Mr. Taco will keep the tradition of tasty, made-to-order specialties alive. Her husband, Mark Eytcheson, died last year. She is not involved in the re-opening.

"I hope it continues to have the quality it was known for," Sheryl Eytcheson said.

Holt resident Sherri Clark, 42, worked at Mr. Taco's restaurant at South Cedar Street and American Road for three years in the late 80s and said the Mr. Taco's return will be something to share with her children, ages 13 and 10.

"It would just be a taste of my childhood coming back," said Clark, who often worked Mr. Taco's drive-thru. "Everybody wants something of their past that they really love to come back."

Bonofiglo encourages Mr. Taco fans to join his Facebook page and anticipates more details about the business to be revealed this week.

Lansing native Mark von Werder, 52, now lives in Grand Blanc, but said he'd visit Mr. Taco "within two or three weeks" of its re-opening. He worked at Mr. Taco's location on Clippert Street for three years in the late 70s and believes the business is primed for a resurgence.

"For those of us that ate this stuff everyday for three years, it transcends and takes you back in high school," said von Werder, who remembers frying and bending taco shells. "It's really all about the food; it's fast food, but there's something really authentic about it."

The sense of pride Greater Lansing has shown for Mr. Taco — from its patrons to former employees — convinced Bonofiglo there's no better time for a comeback. He's not only looking froward to the re-opening, but the camaraderie that will be shared at a reunion party.

If there's a reunion party, Clark said she'll be there and hopes favorites like the taco salad and No. 14 special – a red, all-meat burrito with a side salad, beans and rice – will be available.

"I really think this is going to be huge," Clark said. "I might have to get an application and try to get my old job."