Photo courtesy Brandon Cooley, Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau
By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Another exciting restaurant concept is set to make Hays home in the former Pasta Jay’s location in Tebo Village, 4310 Vine St., bringing a mix of quick-service, Baja-style Mexican food and two full bars.
The restaurant is a collaboration of longtime Hays restaurateur Tom Lovewell and Shane Coyne, who think Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is a “can’t miss” for the location and for Hays.
“It wasn’t about making money, as much as it was ... it was about giving back to a place that gave us our future,” Coyne, who serves as the president of Crunchy Munchies LLC, which was set up to open the business. As a partner, he plans to oversee future development, while Lovewell will oversee operations.
“It seems to appeal to all the individuals and groups around Hays. ... I think it’s dynamic enough to be a perfect fit for us,” Lovewell said. “We are excited to be a part of the community and hire lots of Haysites and have a great time and offer Hays great food service and drinks and have fun.”
Lovewell and Coyne were introduced to the growing chain in the Colorado front range and will model the Hays location after operations there.
Every Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is different, but share the same basic setup and menus, centering on being what they call a “mini-vacation.”
“It’s hard to explain, except the concept is electric,” Lovewell said. “It’s a little, cool, perfect concept.”
And it fits into the Tebo property perfectly.
“After doing the research, it was the perfect setup,” Coyne said. “It was like stumbling into this perfect setup where you couldn’t find anywhere else.”
Lovewell believes the fast-growing concept will have enough name recognition to pull people from Interstate 70 and will be a draw to people in Hays as well.
“Its college following is phenomenal,” he said, noting the success of the location that recently opened near the WSU campus. “College students flock towards it. It’s their thing.”
But Fuzzy’s appeal is bigger than one group of the population.
After looking at other locations, he noted that Fuzzy’s has a diverse following.
“It’s kind of the perfect mix for who Hays is,” Lovewell said. “People around here like social and drinks and a good time. I think it is a home run for who we are in Hays.”
Coyne agreed.
“It’s a food that is simple, it’s fairly fast, it's a fun environment, it’s bright, with 26 TVs, cool drinks. It’s just something Hays doesn’t have,” he said. “How could you not be fired about going back to your hometown and doing something cool? Hays is our hometown. It’s always special. It's always unique.”
Coyne said as the project has moved forward, building owner Stephen Tebo has been easy to work with, adding Lovewell is a “proven operator.”
“Everything came together in a way that you couldn’t ignore,” Coyne said.
The experience
Fuzzy’s Taco Shop follows a newer style of restaurant that doesn’t have servers. Rather, customers order at the counter and are given pagers for when their cooked-to-order meal is ready, or they can opt to sit at one of two full-service bar areas.
This concept helps keep costs lower and creates a more modern quick-service environment, where customers can feel comfortable getting in and out quickly or sitting for hours to watch a sporting event.
The menu features many common Mexican style dishes, like their namesake tacos, burritos, nachos with beef, chicken and shrimp options, salads, and quesadillas. They also have breakfast items, full dinners, appetizers and soup.
The chain has a core menu, but each location can also have local options.
After opening the first location in 2001 in Fort Worth, Texas, the chain was purchased by Chuck and Alan Bush, who quickly turned toward expansion through franchising. It would later be sold again to NRD Capital Management and passed 150 locations this year.
By 2021, the company plans to have opened another 50 restaurants across the U.S.
While development is in the early stages and subject to several factors, including weather and construction time, Lovewell hopes to be open for business by March.