Mr. Taco in Lansing listed on the market; Dealer says a number of are fascinated with property
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LANSING – Five years after Bill Bonofiglo resurrected Mr. Taco, a Lansing staple for more than 50 years, offering unpredictable hours to a loyal fan base, the business is for sale.
The 2,521-square-foot restaurant, at 3122 S. Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., is listed for $950,000.
“The acquisition comes with business as well,” according to the details listed online at Commerical Exchange, a national commercial real estate website.
“Our listing includes the real estate, the building, the inventory, and the equipment,” said Robert Larson, a Grand Rapids-based real estate broker with Virgin Soil Real Estate and RJ Larson & Associates, who is representing the property.
The original Mr. Taco opened on Logan Street in 1967 and was known for its menu items such as the all-meat burritos and its taco sauce
Bill Bonofiglo, the son of one of Mr. Taco’s founders, Eugene Bonofiglo, reopened the Mexican eatery in 2018, about a decade after the last one closed its doors.
The Bonofiglo family owns the building and the business, Larson said Sunday.
The restaurant has kept inconsistent hours since reopening, despite having a loyal fan base. People watch for notifications on a private Mr. Taco Facebook group regarding days the eatery is open.
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Bill Bonofiglo has been posting in the group for more than a year about plans to sell or close the restaurant, but the property wasn’t officially listed until this month.
“We will be posting information shortly regarding the sale,” he wrote Friday in a Facebook post “There are interested parties. A contract was signed with an excellent Broker and professional. Serious inquiries need to be directed towards the Broker and that can always be done through a Broker of your choosing.”
So far seven “individuals or entities” have expressed interest in the property, Larson said.
“I currently don’t have any offers on the table, but I have seven interested parties,” he said. “The majority are interested in running it as a Mr. Taco. I would say a couple of these folks are bigger chain establishments that would be tearing everything down and putting in their brand.”
Larson declined to specify which chain restaurant companies have reached out. The Bonofiglo family would prefer to see the restaurant remain a Mr. Taco, he said.
“I have to tell you, it’s an exciting property to have the opportunity to sell,” he said. “It has an incredible amount of history and interest and an extremely loyal fan base for a business that, right now, is open one day a week.”
See the listing here.
“It has such a long presence in the community, and it’s so unique,” Larson said. “It presents itself as a really good opportunity. I couldn’t tell you whether it’s going to be on the market for a month or nine. I don’t know.”
Contact Rachel Greco at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
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