They say the wait's worth it at Taco John's
The North Main eatery has served about 26,000 people since it opened 11 days ago.

By ADAM LOWENSTEIN, Rockford Register Star
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ROCKFORD -- 10:30 a.m.
That's basically all the advertising needed for Rockford's newest restaurant, Taco John's. It's all by itself on the marquee beneath the sign for the Mexican fast-food outlet, 3007 N. Main St.

What time the 40-seat restaurant opens is clearly the most important thing to know -- judging by the cars that back up onto the street as they wait in the drive-through and the line of people out the front door and occasionally on the sidewalk.

Taco John's opened for business April 28. In the past week and a half, it has broken records in almost every conceivable way, from the fastest use of soda syrup to the largest single-day sales for an opening day in the 35-year history of the franchise.

"All I can say is 'wow,' " said franchisee Don Sheppard, who sold his Taco John's in Fort Atkinson, Wis., to open this one in Rockford. "I never would have dreamed this, not even in my wildest dreams."

There was another message on the marquee during the opening days of business: sold out. During the first 72 hours of operation, Sheppard said, it was hard to keep things in stock: cups, wraps, silverware, soda, produce, buns, even meat. On the opening day, he had to close at 8 p.m., two hours earlier than scheduled.

After closing, Sheppard traveled to Taco John's stores in Wisconsin to gather supplies for the next day. He did that twice.

"That volume the first time out, that was killing me," he said. "It was too much for me to handle."

Sheppard said three factors contributed to the unprecedented early popularity of the

restaurant, and interviews with patrons show they tend to agree:

·  Customer loyalty.

·  Food.

·  The novelty.

In other words, customers who eat at Taco John's in Beloit -- before now the only one in the Rock River Valley -- and those who ate at the three Taco John's that operated in Rockford before closing five or so years ago, continue to seek out the food. And for the customers who hadn't been exposed to Taco John's, they have to come and try it.

Thus, the lines and waits of up to a half-hour.

"We knew it was opening, and we wanted to try it out," said Carlanda Parham, 26, a certified nursing assistant in Rockford who was eating lunch with family members.

Her sister, Latrisha Hanson, 29, added: "We got a new thing, and we wanted to try the new thing."

For others, their meal Friday was like a reunion with an old friend.

"My daughter and I come here because we loved Taco John's when it was in Loves Park," said Helen Hammer, 69, of Loves Park. She and her daughter, Sandy Sharp, 43, say the food just tastes better than other, similar fare.

"It's just something that's really good," Hammer said.

John Walter and Jim Morse, employees at Rebound Physical Therapy in Rockford, had never eaten at Taco John's. They were considering what to order as they made their way to the ordering station of the drive-through.

"We had a little bit of extra time today, so we said let's run by and see what it looks like," said Walter, 36.

New restaurants tend to garner attention, and that's certainly part of what's at work with the Taco John's crowds, said Denby Allen, who witnessed a similar explosion in business when he opened a Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits in Loves Park four years ago.

"I really felt people were seeking out Cajun food when we opened," said Allen, who is vice president of operations at Antler Management in Des Plaines, which operates 15 Popeye's in Illinois. "People are there for a difference, for something that might be a little unique for the area."

More than 2,600 diners have piled into Taco John's each day, Sheppard said, and they were quite hungry and thirsty. In addition to selling out of many things, the restaurant went through 100 boxes of soda syrup in six days. Each box contains either 2 1/2 or 5 gallons, and the record at the time, according to the Coca-Cola distributor, was 50 boxes over seven days.

Sheppard said sales during the first week were more than double the franchise record, although he declined to offer numbers. In fact, he broke the record on opening day, broke that record the next day, then broke that record the third day.

Traditionally, within a month or so of opening, sales taper off by as much as 50 percent of an opening-day total, he said. Maybe that means Sheppard can finally get some sleep. He said he's been working 20 or more hours every day, then grabbing a few hours' sleep in his car.

He's yet to find a home here, choosing to wait until his children finish school in Fort Atkinson before bringing the family to Rockford. But it's all worth it.

"I knew an opening would make me pull out my hair, but one way I'd be smiling and one I wouldn't. I'm pulling my hair out but smiling at the same time."