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The Taco Loco open sign July2023

The Taco Loco reopens after 3½ months of misery

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ASHEBORO – The Taco Loco is back serving customers after the popular Mexican restaurant in downtown Asheboro was closed in various fashions for more than three months following a busted pipe.

The Taco Logo should be operating with a complete menu Monday.

“We’re excited to be opened back up,” restaurant manager Jackie Munoz said Saturday.

The re-opening began late-afternoon Friday with the sale of tacos only.

“We were slammed,” Munoz said.

For the weekend, a limited menu is in place.

The restaurant at 138 Sunset Ave. announced April 4 that the dining area would be closed until further notice. The adjacent bar, Cantina, that is part of the business remained open for a time for drinks only beginning at 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

But Munoz said with work in the restaurant taking place, the bar area was needed for storage and temporary placement of equipment.

“There was a pipe that busted under the building and the water was coming up damaging the floor,” Munoz said. “We thought it would be 10 weeks (of inconvenience).”

Instead, it turned into about 3½ months. The restaurant and bar lease the space.

“People working on the building are working on a million other things,” Munoz said. “Ours was super unexpected.”

The soft re-opening came in part because only two cooks are on duty for the weekend. By Monday, Munoz said the restaurant will be back with its usual staffing of four cooks. There’s also outdoor seating.

Chickfila

Chick-fil-A’s new cauliflower sandwich comes to Asheboro location

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ASHEBORO – Chick-fil-A’s cauliflower sandwich has made its way to Asheboro.

The area is one of the test markets for the chicken restaurant chain’s rollout of the new offering.

“We’re testing it to see what the reaction is,” said Sam Ramsey, franchisee of two Chick-fil-A locations in Asheboro. “We’re going to see how a plant-based sandwich will go over.”

The Triad has been designated as one of the test markets, so that will stretch from Winston-Salem to Mebane and includes Asheboro, Ramsey said.

The sandwich became available Monday.

So far, Ramsey likes the attention that has come with it.

“We’re just trying to get the word out,” he said. “It’s getting a lot of buzz, and there’s interest in it. It’s too early in the test to know (how people are reacting).”

The cauliflower sandwich looks like the chain’s traditional chicken sandwich. The difference is that this sandwich is comprised of breaded and pressure-cooked cauliflower.

According to Chick-fil-A, the preparation is similar to that of the chain’s original chicken sandwich.

Ramsey is the franchisee of both Asheboro locations, but only the stand-alone restaurant at 1212 East Dixie Dr. is offering the cauliflower sandwich. He said the Randolph Mall location’s kitchen is too small to accommodate the test sandwich.

Ramsey has been a Chick-fil-A franchisee in Asheboro since 1988.

Other test markets are in Denver and Charleston, S.C. Ramsey said the availability of the sandwich as part of the test market will last a few months.

DodgeCity

Asheboro restaurant scene undergoes changes

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Dodge City Steakhouse has closed in Ashesboro. (Randolph Record)

ASHEBORO — The restaurant scene in Asheboro is on the move with a couple of notable developments.

Dodge City Steakhouse on East Dixie Drive has closed.

The Asheboro restaurant had been one of seven Dodge City Steakhouses in the state. Those are part of Hodge Restaurant Group, with corporate headquarters in Asheboro.

Other than confirming that the Asheboro location has ceased operations, company officials declined to comment on the situation.

“Due to an active lawsuit, we can’t comment at this time,” Amanda Hodge said Monday. “We do want to post (information) once that is resolved.”

Meanwhile, several sources have said discussions are near completion in bringing a Full Moon Oyster Bar restaurant to Asheboro.

The location under consideration is a building that’s connected to both North Street and Trade Street. That would be near The Taco Loco on Sunset Avenue.

There are Full Moon Oyster Bar restaurants in Jamestown, Clemmons, Southern Pines, Concord, Morrisville, and Atlantic Beach.

According to its website, it’s described as “a popular watering hole and seafood restaurant.” The first one opened in Clemmons.

Messages to the owners of Full Moon Oyster Bar haven’t been returned since late last week.

All the Full Moon Oyster Bar locations are open daily except for in Morrisville, where the restaurant is closed Sundays. Atlantic Beach, Clemmons, Concord, and Morrisville serve dinner only most days. Southern Pines is open for lunch only on Sundays, while the Jamestown location serves both meals daily.