The Taco Company opened its doors on Tuesday for a soft opening. The restaurant isn’t offering its full menu and is using the soft opening to make any changes before fully opening to capitalize on the upcoming Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in August. The newest addition to the city’s dining options, is open for business from Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for lunch and dinner meals, at its 212 N. Main St. location.

“We are open for business and will conduct a grand opening ceremony during Lucy Fest,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick, The Taco Company’s co-owner.

Fitzpatrick owns Ryan’s Phil N’ Cindy’s Lunch, 1391 E. Second St., and is partnered with a former employee and now business partner at the city’s newest eatery.

“I hired Heather Gregory during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “She’s talked about branching out and starting another restaurant. Here we are.”

The Taco Company, the city’s newest restaurant, 212 North Main St. in the former Havana Cuban Cafe location, opened for business Tuesday afternoon. Diners are pictured in the restaurant Tuesday. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Additionally, the restaurant had a steady flow of customers dining in and taking out food during the “soft opening.”

“We’re pretty busy, more than I expected,” said Fitzpatrick. “We can look at an in-house delivery option down the road. We’ve got a lot more work to do before we have our official opening.”

The new business is starting to garner interest.

“I was driving by for my lunch break and saw people coming in and leaving the store front,” said Michael O’Brian, a resident of Jamestown. “So, I decided to check it out and I’m happy I did.”

The restaurant offers a variety of authentic Mexican style meals and food items, and the owners hope to have everything up and running by their targeted August opening timeline.

“We’re looking at our hard opening date between Aug. 1-4,” said Fitzpatrick. “We’re not sure just what day yet.”

For more information visit the company’s official Facebook page at The Taco Company.