UPDATE: Taco John’s first Dayton-area restaurant alters Kettering celebration

Credit: JEREMY P.KELLEY/STAFF

Credit: JEREMY P.KELLEY/STAFF

The Kettering Taco John’s grand opening celebration has been changed and expanded, according to the restaurant chain.

The event, initially set for Feb. 5, is now scheduled for the week of Feb. 19, said Annie Hann, Taco John’s field marketing manager.

Golden Tickets, redeemable for one free Crispy Beef Taco or Small Potato Oles each week for a year, will be given to the first 25 customers Feb. 20-23, Hahn said.

The first Taco John’s restaurant in the Dayton area officially opened for business in Kettering earlier this month.

That restaurant at 4045 Wilmington Pike in front of the large Meijer store is Taco John’s fifth site in Ohio. It is a 2,106 square-foot location with a drive-thru and a seating capacity of 50. Company officials have said it will have 30 part- and full-time employees.

“We’re so excited to bring the iconic Taco John’s flavors to more guests in the Midwest,” Gary Rose, president of Meritage Hospitality Group, a franchisee for Taco John’s, said in the announcement.

Regular store hours will be 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., according to the company’s website.

Taco John’s offers meat and potato burritos, stuffed grilled tacos, Potato Olés and fried chicken tacos.

Credit: JEREMY P.KELLEY/STAFF

Credit: JEREMY P.KELLEY/STAFF

The Kettering location was picked for the store because of its high volume of traffic, Meritage officials have said. Kettering officials have said the area near the East Stroop Road-Wilmington Pike intersection averages about 20,000 vehicles a day.

There is already a large row of fast-food restaurants ringing that Meijer store, including Burger King, Popeye’s, Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Dunkin, as well as some sit-down restaurants.

The Wyoming-based restaurant business opened a site in Butler County this spring with a West Chester Twp. location. It also plans to open in Montgomery County’s Miami Twp. next year.

Taco John’s, which started in 1968, has more than 380 locations in 22 states, including Ohio sites in Athens, Bellville and Circleville, according to its website.