Taco Time had a massive drive thru line up for its last day.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED
May 11, 2021 - 5:18 PM
Taco Time went out with a crunch — a traffic crunch.
Cars snaked around the Dilworth shopping centre parking lot today, awaiting their last burrito combo and to show support for the business that had been there for 40 years.
One woman who was waiting for her last Dilworth Taco Time lunch inside the store said people were lined up way outside the building and the man in front of her had ordered 17 burritos.
Only one was hot enough to eat on the spot. The rest were being saved.
The Taco Time on Dilworth is shutting down Tuesday, May 11, after a lengthy battle to keep its lease and, in turn, its doors open.
Owner Ray Heathcote has been in a legal battle with a Vancouver-based landlord who wanted to see the building taken over by a Starbucks.
In July 2019, Heathcote launched a website trying to rally support and he got a lot of it, for what it was worth. At that time he asked, “is a cup of coffee worth 40 years of tacos?” and started a petition to sway city council to consider taking action that would stop the business from being torn down and replaced with a Starbucks. He also went to court.
The legal matter hasn’t completely been settled, but Heathcote said he’s failed to extend the lease prompting the immediate closure.
“We have been here 40 years and we’ve been the best and it’s been a very successful store and I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out from the leasing side of things,” he said.
While the location may not last another year, that doesn’t mean Heathcote’s Taco Time is leaving the city forever.
He said he's currently scouting new locations.
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