‘Tacos are Mexican-style sandwiches,’ judge rules in Indiana court

Video shows the judge’s initial ruling asking the Fort Wayne Plan Commission to reconsider.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – A ruling Monday by a Superior Court judge in Indiana that “tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches” may end a years-long battle between a restauranteur and a county commission.

Restauranteur Martin Quintana and the Allen County Plan Commission have been battling over what type of establishment was being built and going into a now 11,000-square-foot strip mall.

Previously, the commission denied a Famous Taco from being located in the strip mall partially based on a “written commitment” Quintana accepted with a nearby neighborhood association limiting any restaurant there to one that did not offer alcohol, did not allow outdoor seating and only sold “made-to-order or subway style sandwiches.”

The idea behind the agreement, according to court documents, was to keep national fast-food burger and chicken chains out of the strip mall.

“The Court agrees with Quintana that tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches, and the original Written Commitment does not restrict potential restaurants to only American cuisine-style sandwiches,” Bobay wrote Monday in the civil case.

“The original Written Commitment would also permit a restaurant that serves made-to-order Greek gyros, Indian naan wraps, or Vietnamese Banh mi if these restaurants complied with the other enumerated conditions,” Bobay continued in his written opinion.

It’s unclear when the Famous Taco, which already has equipment and signage ready, will open.

When reached Monday, Quintana had not been told about the judge’s opinion issued earlier that day.

At first, the property was zoned to be residential and Quintana claimed he wanted to build a garage there. As the space grew to roughly 9,000 to 11,000 square feet — with work stoppages due to code violations along the way — questions arose about what exactly Quintana planned for the property.

He went through Fort Wayne City Council to have the property rezoned to limited commercial, came up with a new plan for a restaurant, and then changed that to make the property a strip mall with a restaurant and four other units.

This led to accusations that Quintana had been trying to build a shopping center all along without properly acquiring the required permits, according to court documents in the civil case against the plan commission.

Quintana and the Covington Creek Condominium Association agreed on a “Written Commitment” that allowed for “made-to-order or subway-style sandwiches,” which played a part in the civil case against the plan commission.

When Quintana made plans to open a Famous Taco in the plaza, the neighborhood association claimed the agreement did not support such a restaurant. Quintana and the neighborhood association, however, eventually hammered out an amendment that would allow the Famous Taco to open.

The plan commission, though, did not approve the amendment, which left Famous Taco in limbo.

“The applicant did not present this type of restaurant brand as an exception to the applicant’s ban of all restaurants from the shopping center,” the commission wrote in one opinion upholding its denial of a Famous Taco at the site.

“The Common Council did not consider this brand of restaurant when rezoning the property,” the commission’s opinion continued. “In rezoning the property, both the Plan Commission and the Common Council relied on the terms of the written commitment presented by the applicant when the applicant admitted that he built the commercial shopping center in a residential district without proper permits.”

In his ruling Monday, Bobay did not fault the plan commission for its denial of the Famous Taco and made sure his decision is appealable.

“The Court concludes that the Respondent Fort Wayne Plan Commission’s denial of the Amendment to the Written Commitment was not improper, however, a Famous Taco restaurant is permissible under the terms of the Written Commitment,” Bobay wrote.