Del Taco

[Pete]

Application for building permit for Del Taco at 6161 N. May.

I believe the plan is to split the large parking area from the north part of the Dot Wo property and build there.

[Pete]

[Pete]

[Martin]

and that's aaa just to the north?

[Pete]

and that's aaa just to the north?

Yes:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.ph...46#post1030446

[Martin]

gotcha... missed the cross post and even looked for it... i might need more coffee this morning.

[shawnw]

Drove by it yesterday and the Del Taco _appears_ to be open. Going to have to try to lunch there this week.

[Pete]

Drove by it yesterday and the Del Taco _appears_ to be open. Going to have to try to lunch there this week.

Just went by and it's not open yet... Sign says they are in training.

Also, they have a huge drive-thru loop to the rear (west) of the building. I bet it could hold 20 cars in a queue.

[u50254082]

The awnings make it look like a Mazzios.

[Pete]

Landmark building on NW Expressway to give way to new Johnnie's and Del Taco


Many remember Molly Murphy's, the heavily themed restaurant on south Meridian that featured waiters in character and a 'salad car' made from a vintage Jaquar automobile.

In the early 1980's with a second location in Tulsa and lines out the door, proprietor Bob Tayar decided to try something new: a huge Mexican restaurant with elaborate décor on what was then the outskirts of growing Northwest Oklahoma City.

Tayar opened TaMolly's on NW Expressway near Rockwell in March of 1982 in more than 10,000 square feet of expensively construtcted space, including an elaborate tile roof. Even before opening, there were legal squablings between Tayar and the property owner and landlord.

TaMolly's lasted only a year and a half before Tayar tried another restaurant concept, Bobby Lee's, which in turn failed after a mere 3 months.

Soon thereafter the building became an elaborate nightclub named City Lites and with the local economy reeling from a depressed oil and gas market, the elaborate tile roof was repossessed and the building ultimately fell back into the hands of Liberty Bank in 1990.

In 1992 Johnnie's Charcoal Broiler stepped in and bought the property, opened a new location and made some of the excess space into coroporate headquarters for their growing enterprise.

After 25 years, Johnnie's closed at that location on May 31st after selling the entire property to a developer who is planning to build a new, modern Johnnie's on the site while also constructing a Del Taco to the west.

Johnnie's had recently moved it's offices to an office park near 15th and Kelly in Edmond.

At 1.85 acres there is plenty of room for a new 5,300 square foot Johnnies with a drive-thru and the 7th Oklahoma location for the California fast food restaurant chain that recently entered the market.

With locations in Norman, Moore, Edmond, Yukon and West Oklahoma City, Del Taco is set to open very soon at 6161 N. May on the site of the former Dot Wo restaurant. Construction is complete and signs at the property indicate staff training is in process.

The building at 6629 NW Expressway is being emptied and demolition will soon start, followed closely by the new construction.

Johnnie's CEO Rick Haynes told OKCTalk the new location will be very similar to the Johnnies just opened in Yukon, with a community meeting room and a drive-thru as well as a large dining area.

Haynes said they have many loyal customers that have been patronizing the NW Expressway for years and they hope to reopen by the spring of 2019 with a new, improved dining experience. Haynes also mentioned that the old building was far too large for their needs and not built for their specific purpose.

The move is part of a larger expansion by Johnnie's, which will open a full restaurant at 2305 S. Telephone Rd. in Moore this July, followed by an Express location (smaller footprint but also serving breakfast) at 6825 SE 29th in Midwest City this fall.

Johnnie's Charcoal Broiler dates back to 1971 and their first location on Britton Road. With the addtion of Moore and Midwest City, the company will have 10 restaurants in Central Oklahoma.

[SEMIweather]

The N May location is now open

[Pete]

New Del Taco coming to the old Joe's Crab Shack location on the SE corner of I-240 and S. Penn:

[baralheia]

I was actually just talking to a friend from Dallas about Del Taco... I find it interesting that Del Taco seems to be thriving and expanding here, while in Texas, they shuttered 12 stores in Dallas and Austin at the end of 2015, leaving only one store remaining in Fort Worth (which subsequently closed in 2017). Most of the Texas locations were all owned by the same franchisee so maybe that played into DT's decision.

I'm excited for this southside location though... it's close to the house and as a result I'll probably be eating here much more often now!

[SoonerDave]

New Del Taco coming to the old Joe's Crab Shack location on the SE corner of I-240 and S. Penn:

Gosh I'm so glad to hear we have no risk of walking five paces without hitting a fast-food tortilla factory. So stinking annoying.

[Pete]

New Del Taco to be constructed at 13201 N. Penn, which is in front of the under-construction Winco and south of Aldi and Whataburger.

[TheSteveHunt]

Del Taco got a mention in the new, awesome Beastie Boys book so I guess I should try it....

[Pete]

The Del Taco on I-240 opens on Wednesday.

[jompster]

Isn't I-240 already open? I ate there this past Thursday (11/7) when I went to the south side to tend to a friend's place while he's away. Or is there a second one I haven't seen yet?

[Pete]

It may be open but the official 'grand opening' is Wednesday.

[bhawes]

The Del Taco on I-240 opens on Wednesday.

It opened about two months ago they just doing a grand opening.

[Pete]

Del Taco nearing completion on N. Penn around 130th.

[mgharfeh]

What about Winco??

[Pete]

What about Winco??

They still own the land but have obviously decided not to move forward right away, if at all.

[PaddyShack]

Is there some type of agreement between AAA and Del Taco, they built next door to each other at the May location as well, haha.