Minneapolis skyway loses another one: Taco John's closes

Taco John's fans in downtown Minneapolis were left empty Friday as the longtime skyway lunch spot shut its doors — apparently for good.

The Wyoming-based restaurant chain, beloved for its cheddar crunch and mango shrimp tacos, fried "potato oles" and spicy chorizo breakfast burrito, had been a morning and noontime favorite of downtown's business crowds. Downtown's selection of fast, tasty food options has dwindled considerably since the pandemic as restaurant spots have closed at dizzying speeds.

Tucked in the Northstar Center building by the skyway that leads into the Wells Fargo Tower, the store was the only Taco John's location in Minneapolis. (There are still locations in nearby suburbs and greater Minnesota, 44 in all in the state.)

Friday's abrupt closing sent shocked customers to commiserate on Twitter. Loyal followers reminisced about how the site's food got them through mornings at work, jury duty and the return to the office following the pandemic.

Andrew "Sully" Sullivan, who lives in Lowry Hill, said in an interview Saturday that he was the store's last customer on Friday afternoon.

"Everyone's in mourning. It will be missed," he said, joking that he cried while chomping into the last "potato oles" the staff fried up just for him on Friday. He said the same five employees had been serving him and providing tacos for his entire downtown office for 10 years.

"This is heartfelt. The staff just found out Wednesday that they were closing," he said. "I was their last customer. They literally locked the doors behind me."

Taco John's officials did not immediately respond to messages left Saturday at company headquarters. The phone at the downtown location went unanswered.

Before the pandemic, the downtown Taco John's was known for lines that stretched into the skyway. Post-pandemic, it and many other downtown lunch nooks suffered as workers switched to hybrid work schedules.

A few months ago, longtime hot dog stand Walkin' Dog closed its doors, after being the first spot to reopen when the pandemic lockdown ended. So Good Asian shut its doors in the U.S. Bank Plaza skyway after stubbornly staying open through the entire pandemic.