‘Bring on the potato olés’: Taco John’s moves HQ to St. Louis Park

The company quietly shifted its base from Wyoming to its franchise support center opened in 2022.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 19, 2025 at 8:35PM
The lobby at the new Taco John's restaurant support center and test kitchen in St. Louis Park.
Taco John's lobby at the company's restaurant support center and now corporate base. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Taco John’s has moved its corporate headquarters from Cheyenne, Wyo., to a Minneapolis suburb, leaving the city where the fast-food chain was founded as a taco stand more than 55 years ago.

The company quietly shifted its base to its franchise support center in St. Louis Park, which also houses a test kitchen in a 20,000-square-foot second-level office space in the West End shopping center.

Minnesotans were quick to claim bragging rights. Gov. Tim Walz cheered the move on social media with the rallying cry, “Bring on the potato olés,” a reference to the chain’s signature potato rounds that enjoy cult status across the Midwest.

Taco John’s has not issued a public statement, but a headquarters employee confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the West End location now serves as the corporation’s base.

Taco John's opened a restaurant support center, including a test kitchen, two years ago in St. Louis Park. That now is the company's corporate headquarters as well. (Emmy Martin/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

No executives were available for comment due to an “all-day meeting,” the company said.

The chain’s news releases are now datelined St. Louis Park, and its website also lists the new West End Boulevard address. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle first reported the move.

That support center employed about 30 people in 2022.

The relocation places Taco John’s headquarters in the state with the highest concentration of its more than 350 restaurants, many of which are within a four-hour drive of Minneapolis.

And CEO Heather Neary, appointed in 2024, is based in Minneapolis. She did not respond to requests for comment.

The state is also home to other fast-food and casual chains, including Dairy Queen, Caribou Coffee and Famous Dave’s, making the Minneapolis area something of a hub for restaurant talent and support services. Buffalo Wild Wings also started here.

Meanwhile, the company’s former headquarters in Cheyenne has found a new tenant: the Wyoming Lottery Corp., or WyoLotto, which is now operating out of the site. A banner on its homepage touts the move.

about the writer

about the writer

Emmy Martin

Business Intern

Emmy Martin is the business reporting intern at the Minnesota Star Tribune.

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