Midwestern Tex-Mex chain coming to Central Kentucky; a dozen restaurants planned

Get ready for Potato Olés, Central Kentucky: Taco John’s, a popular Midwestern Tex-Mex chain, is coming to Lexington.

Nashville-based partners Bradley Paxton and Matthew Keiser plan to add at least 12 new Taco John’s in Kentucky, with the first restaurant scheduled for Glasgow by mid-February. There already are nine Taco John’s in Western Kentucky.

The quick-serve Mexican brand is known Potato Olés, kind of like bite-sized spicy hash browns, and other menu items including street tacos, sirloin steak nachos, and meat and potato burritos. The menu also has breakfast burritos and desserts including churros and Mexican Donut Bites.

“I’m from Western Kentucky, where everyone loves eating at Taco John’s,” Paxton said in a statement. “This opportunity is a perfect fit for my business partner and I, and a great use of our management experience.”

Paxton said Tuesday that they will work their way up the Interstate 75 corridor into Central Kentucky and that they anticipate opening their first Taco John’s in Lexington in mid-2019.

The company hasn’t pinpointed where the restaurant will be, but it plans to open three or four in Lexington and one in Frankfort, he said.

“The college base is wonderful, but Taco John’s really has a cult following in the Midwest, and there are going to be lot of transplants, Paxton said. I’m from Paducah, and growing up, nobody went to Taco Bell; everybody went to Taco John’s. This is a brand that is going to have recognition already. We’d like to put one in close to the university, but we’re also looking at outliers.”

Taco John’s operates and franchises nearly 400 restaurants in 23 states. The privately owned chain began in 1969 in Cheyenne, Wyo.

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Midwestern Tex-Mex chain coming to Central Kentucky; a dozen restaurants planned."