Owner explains why he closed Southland location of popular Mexican chain
Lexington has its first casualty in the taco wars: A popular Mexican chain known for its cult following has closed one location.
Taco Tico at 212 Southland Drive shut down Aug. 31.
Developer and restaurant owner Lee Greer said that it just made more sense to focus on the locations at 1438 Boardwalk and at 3110 Pimlico Parkway.
And Greer said that they plan to do something special for fans who might miss their Sanchos, Tacos Burger or Tico Tots: “It’s closed but we’ll be handing out certificates for free tacos at our other locations for the next week or so,” Greer said. “We want to do something nice for them and hope they support the other two locations.”
Taco Tico was once a big brand in the area but dwindled to just one Lexington location when Greer Companies purchased the franchise in 2019 and began to revive it. They opened a Pimlico Parkway location and then added the Southland one in 2020.
Are there too many Mexican restaurants in Lexington?
But the last four years have brought a lot of competition to town, from other Tex-Mex chains including Taco John’s to Mom and Pop dining spots, that have some wondering if there’s such a thing as too many Mexican restaurants in Lexington.
“It certainly doesn’t help but we can’t say it’s due to that,” Greer said. “The Southland Tico took significant business from our other two very successful locations at the time it opened, and since.”
It’s unclear what might go into the Southland restaurant spot, which was a former Arby’s.
This story was originally published September 1, 2023 at 11:12 AM.
