Club Taco in Kirkwood will close after service Sunday, Nov. 21

In a Facebook post yesterday, Monday, Nov. 15, Kirkwood institution Club Taco announced that it would be closing after service this Sunday, Nov. 21. The owners did not mince words about the reason for the closing in the post, which said, “Although we were able to make it through the pandemic, the addition (and subtraction) of many new neighbors, and some of the toughest conditions this world have ever been faced with (labor shortages, supply chain issues, and a HUGE plumbing problem), what we were unable to overcome, was a landlord that did not believe in us.”  

Chef-owner Gerard LaRuffa elaborated on the closing, adding, “We’ve been a good tenant, and Kirkwood has been very supportive of what we’ve done. We’ve planted our roots in Kirkwood.” But ultimately, LaRuffa speculates that Club Taco’s landlord opted not to renew the lease because of issues with the building that were not attended to. “My thought is it probably had to do with the sewer issue, but unfortunately, he wasn’t being very engaging with the issue.”  

LaRuffa isn’t sure whether this is the end of Club Taco, as he said he hopes to find a new location for the concept. “At the end of it all, the goal is to have Club Taco live on,” he said. “We’ve put too much blood, sweat and tears and energy into this to watch it go away. When the time is right, we’ll be back, and I hope that [customers] are willing to hang out until we can find something.”  

Fans of Club Taco can still visit through the end of the weekend; LaRuffa aims to keep things running for his employees to make ends meet. “The idea is just to make sure that your employees are being taken care of, and I’ll continue doing that,” he said. “We’re going to conduct business as usual.”