Fuzzy’s Taco Shop finally opens with fresh, made-to-order menu and lots of Fuzzy’s Dust

Tim Harty, The Business Times

John Cassity said 15 to 20 people camped overnight to guarantee they would be among the first 50 customers when Fuzzy’s Taco Shop opened its doors for the first time in Grand Junction at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 14. Earning that designation came with free tacos for a year (two free tacos per week for 52 weeks).

Cassity said others started joining the campers at 2480 U.S. Highway 6&50 in the Grand Mesa Center around 4:30 that morning, and the last of the Fuzzy’s fans to make the First 50 got in line around 6:30 a.m.

Cassity understands their devotion. It’s why the veteran restaurateur – he owns several Einstein Bros. Bagels restaurants, including the one in Grand Junction, and several Subway sandwich shops along Interstate 70 in Colorado – decided to open Fuzzy’s Tacos in the Grand Valley. He encountered Fuzzy’s Taco Shop on the Front Range, loved it and figured the Texas-based chain restaurant would thrive on the other side of the mountains.

What he didn’t anticipate was what he’d have to endure to make that happen. Those customers who waited in line to be the first in Cassity’s Fuzzy’s location? That wasn’t waiting.

Try waiting nearly four years.

Cassity intended to open Fuzzy’s in the second half of 2022 or early 2023. Nation’s Restaurant News reported on June 7, 2022, that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop announced a four-store agreement with Cassity to expand the brand into Colorado and Utah, with the first two slated for Grand Junction and St. George, Utah.

Instead, a lot of unforeseen delays made Cassity wait until the waning days of summer 2026 to finally open his first Fuzzy’s location in Grand Junction.

Cassity chose not to detail all of the obstacles beyond a general acknowledgement that issues with zoning, planning, permitting, building codes and city requirements upended the first location he sought for Fuzzy’s. Then, after getting the 2480 U.S. 6&50 location in December 2025, a few more hurdles extended the opening well past Cassity’s desired opening date.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “We have still had a lot of different hiccups, and I’m a man of faith, so this has been a test and a trial, for sure, with patience to get where we are. Just, it’s a miracle to get it open.”

He added, “I’m blessed that we are still here, still moving forward, still have the ability to open this up. And I think the community is gonna receive us well.”

Now that the wait is over, the Grand Valley can find out what Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is all about. Cassity said that’s flavorful, craveable and affordable tacos, margaritas, a family focus and sports.

“You know, Fuzzy’s taco shop is a different concept than your normal Mexican taco establishments in town,” he said. “It is very unique flavor profiles with a patented Fuzzy’s Dust that gives us a very unique, craveable flavor.

“And we have a very affordable entry point to tacos. We also have taco plates, Mexican plates, burritos and other Mexican dish offerings. And we carry a full bar, so this allows us to complement a variety of pairings and proteins in our tacos, in our Mexican plates, with a full bar of different beer, wine, liquor, spirits.”

While Fuzzy’s Taco shop also serves quesadillas, enchiladas and burritos, and “everything is made fresh,” Cassity said, “You’d be remiss if you didn’t really pan in on the tacos and find one that’s your personal favorite.”

For the atmosphere, he spoke about creating a big, family atmosphere, fun for all types of demographics, welcoming the various youth sports teams after their games, and, of course, their parents.

And the televisions scattered around the restaurant will be showing sporting events. Now that the National Football League’s latest season has begun, Cassity made it a point to say Fuzzy’s has NFL Sunday Ticket, something that has disappeared from some restaurants and bars, because the cost increased substantially this year.

More succinctly, Cassity said what Fuzzy’s Taco Shops across the nation are going for is “good vibes, good tacos.”

They’re also going for affordability, as Cassity said, “You’re gonna be able to eat multiple tacos without breaking your bank. You can buy three, four tacos – I mean, they’re starting at $3.49 a taco.”

Of course, there are tacos on the menu that cost more than $3.49, but he emphasized there will be “plenty of protein and not overfilling with stuffing, but just the quality ingredients.”

And the freshness is real.

“Everything is freshly made to order. Everything is cooked the same day,” Cassity said. “Nothing’s pre-made or sitting in a warmer.”

Defying the doubters

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is leasing its location at 2480 U.S. Highway 6&50, which previously was home to Italian restaurant Johnny Carino’s and Asian restaurant 476 Food District.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop owner John Cassity is aware that those restaurants came and went, and if he didn’t know, some people are happy to remind him.

“A lot of people have said, ‘Nothing’s worked over there.’ Well, they were all startup concepts, first-time restaurateurs, and they got into an excessively high rent in this building. I didn’t,” he said. “They just didn’t know what they were doing.”

What is Fuzzy’s Dust?

Cassity said Fuzzy’s Dust gets sprinkled on darn near everything – tacos, burritos, quesadillas, chips, queso, guacamole, etc. – at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, because it’s so darn craveable.

“And when I say crave,” he said, “it’s just addictive, you know?”

Why is that? Cassity had to be careful answering the question.

“I can’t give out the exact ingredients,” he said. “It’s just a unique Mexican/Southwest flavor. Southwest is more indicative of what we have.”

He compared it to another spice for its versatility (not its taste), saying, “Think of Tajin, how Tajin is used in so many applications, right? It’s really that kind of an applicator to accentuate other flavor profiles and food to kind of expand them.

“So, Fuzzy’s Dust is unique. And we sell it. That’s how good it is, the fact that we even will market it and sell it as a seasoning to take home, right?”