FARGO — Lovers of tacos and grinders might be in for a tasty valentine.

Troy Thomson is opening his third Taco Shop at 117 Broadway N. in downtown Fargo.

Extensive renovations are going on now in the spot once occupied by Sweeto Burrito.

Thomson said Thursday, Dec. 19, that he is aiming to have the restaurant open by early February.

He started looking for a third location after he bought the Taco Shop chain in May 2019. (The other two shops are at 1825 S. University Drive and 420 N. University Drive.)

listen live watch live

“I grew up in Moorhead so I’ve been familiar with The Taco Shop all my life, so when this came up to purchase one of the longest-running restaurants in Fargo-Moorhead, it was pretty surreal,” Thomson said.

RELATED:

The downtown shop will have a little more pizzazz to it, though the menu and prices will be the same as his other stores.

“That is going to be a little more unique, compared to the other two, because I’m going to be doing beer, margaritas and daiquiris. I’ll have big-screen TVs all over the place and it’s all going to be renovated with high tabletops and everything else,” Thomson said.

“The good thing with the Taco Shops is I haven’t changed anything. They’ve been around (nearly) 59 years. I kept all those recipes the same. We make all of our salsas, all of our hot sauces, we shred our own cheese,” he said. “We cook our own tortilla chips, our tostadas, our taco shells, so everything we do is completely fresh.”

The downtown Sweeto Burrito restaurant closed in summer 2017 for renovations, but never reopened.

Thompson purchased the Taco Shops from Shirley Johnson, the widow of Paul Johnson, who had owned the restaurants for 29 years.

Paul Johnson had died in January 2017 after a battle with lung cancer.

The first Taco Shop opened in 1961 on 13th Street North in Fargo with a five-item menu, sticking to basics such as tacos, tostadas and grinders.