Taco Bell to close 90 days while new building is constructed

Tough economic times aren't slowing all construction or keeping people from eating their tacos and burritos.

So customers of Taco Bell in Seymour will soon have to travel outside the city to think outside the bun.

After 20 years of serving Jackson County residents and visitors from its location at 1509 E. Tipton St., the restaurant is scheduled to be torn down in February and rebuilt.

Manager Rikki Goble said it will be about 90 days before the new building opens.

"It was supposed to be at the beginning of February," she said of the start of the project. "But it's been pushed back because they are resubmitting the blue prints for the building permit."

Goble said the delay is a result of the fire suppression system not meeting state code.

Franchise owner Clint Smith of New Albany-based C&M Smith Restaurants confirmed Monday the project would begin in February but said he wouldn't have all the details until next week.

"We haven't finalized everything, but at this point it's looking like we will shut down the second week of February," he said.

One of the major factors the company has to consider on deciding when to start construction is weather, Smith said.

"Weather plays a major role in when we start the project because we want to move as quick as we can to get it completed," he said.

The new building will allow for better customer service and working conditions, Goble said.

"This building just wasn't built to handle the amount of customers we serve every day," she said. "In 20 years we have expanded our offerings and are serving many more people."

Smith agreed.

"It was my first restaurant," he said. "I have 17 in my company now, but it still holds a special place in my heart."

According to the May 2008 issue of Franmac News, a quarterly trade magazine for Taco Bell franchisees, Taco Bell 3877 in Seymour opened on Dec. 27, 1988.

The store produced more than $1 million in sales that first year and continues to be C&M's biggest revenue generator with average sales of $2.1 million annually, the magazine said.

Goble began working at the Seymour store in 1990.

"I remember when I was in high school we didn't have a Taco Bell here, so me and my friends would drive to Columbus every week," she said.

Although Goble and Smith hate to see the store closed for any period, they both said in the long run the new building will be better for customers and employees.

The dining area will grow some, Goble said, but the biggest changes will be to the food prep area.

"It will be bigger and make it more efficient for our workers, so it's more behind the scenes work," she said.

"We're going to be making it better," Smith added. "The building has remained in pretty good shape for the most part, but in the past year or so it has started showing its age."

Smith said the dining area won't change much in size or seating capacity, and parking will remain about the same. Most of the changes will take place in the kitchen and food prep area as well as the drive-thru, he added.

"We will be changing the drive thru flow a little to make it faster," he said. "And we will have the most up-to-date equipment to help us make the food faster."