April 11, 2025
First Taco John’s in CT planned in Ashley Furniture parking lot
CONTRIBUTED
A Taco John's location.
A Wyoming-based Mexican food chain, Taco John’s, is seeking zoning approval for a drive-thru location in Newington, its first in Connecticut.
Real estate investor Sami Abunasra has applied for site plan approval and a special permit to use part of the parking lot of his Ashley Furniture store at 56 Costello Road for the fast-food venue.
Abunasra and his brother/business partner own the Ashley Furniture property under the name Zynn LLC. They also own and operate two other Ashley furniture stores, in Manchester and Waterbury, and have been increasingly involved in commercial real estate investment and development.
Ashley Furniture in Newington sits on a 3.8-acre property off the Berlin Turnpike and has an underutilized parking lot, according to the application.
A small area of the parking lot will be replaced with the drive-thru Taco John’s, leaving plenty of parking available for the retail store, the application states.
The town recently approved a zoning text change that allows certain uses in parking lots.
The 2,200-square-foot Taco John’s will be located on the south side of the property between two existing driveways. The parking lot will be reconfigured to provide 16 spaces around the new building. A drive-thru lane will circle the building, providing space for 17 vehicles to wait in line.
The site already has access and curb cuts onto Costello Road and will use existing electric, gas water and sewer service.
The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public on Wednesday to discuss the project. The commission left the hearing open to give the applicant time to work with the town’s engineering department to resolve issues.
The hearing will resume at the commission’s next meeting on April 23.
Taco John’s has nearly 400 locations in 23 states, mostly in the Midwest. The closest existing locations to Connecticut are in Leominster, Massachusetts, and Boston.
The business was founded in 1969 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
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