GREENVILLE — Over a year after announcing its expansion to the Upstate, Charleston-born Taco Boy has delayed plans for Greenville and is selling the property it had purchased for the restaurant.
Pete Brett of Coldwell Banker Commercial Caine confirmed that the 4,400-square-foot property on Laurens Road was on the market as of May 1and that he had already received inquiries, both local and regional.
All Good Industries, the company that includes Taco Boy, bought the property from the owners of Farmhouse Tacos last year.
Farmhouse Tacos closed the Greenville location in December 2022 with owners citing an opportunity to sell the property and noting plans to reopen a Greenville outpost in the future. Thus far, the Farmhouse owners remain focused on the flagship location in downtown Travelers Rest.
The building where Taco Boy Greenville was slated to open at 1813 Laurens Road is back on the market. While plans for Greenville have been delayed, company officials stated Taco Boy still plans to open a restaurant in the city.
Plans for Taco Boy Greenville included reframing the interior space to include an in-house tortilla-making operation. It also meant taking time to get to know Greenville, to create “meaningful roots,” Taco Boy founder, Karalee Nielsen Fallert, told The Post and Courier last year.
Now, hopes to expand here are longer term.
“We view the Laurens Road location as an excellent opportunity,” Nielsen Fallert said in a written statement. “While our immediate focus has pivoted to refining our latest series of restaurant openings, our long-term plans remain firmly committed to expanding in Greenville.”
Speculation has swirled that the delay in Greenville might have something to do with the lawsuit brought by Aric Hutchinson, the groom of a woman who on April 28, 2023, was killed on her wedding day by a drunk driver in Folly Beach.
The groom is suing a number of establishments that are alleged to have contributed to the driver’s intoxication. Taco Boy has filed to dismiss the lawsuit against the company.
The delay in Greenville has nothing to do with the lawsuit, said All Good Industries marketing manager Savannah Copeland, and more to do with wanting to devote full attention, time and resources to the new restaurant.
“Taco Boy is a neighborhood spot and a family of taquerias,” Copeland told The Post and Courier. “Our mission is to create positive experiences. With this, we aim to activate fun, inspire action and build community, which takes time and dedication to each of our markets.”
Over the past 13 months, the company has opened three new locations, including two in the Asheville area and one in Charlotte. The focus and the energy and time required to open the new restaurants meant that Greenville’s location had to be set aside temporarily, Copeland said.
Taco Boy currently has six locations in both South Carolina and North Carolina.
