Taco Tinga closed due to fire damage

By Linda Stinnett
Derby Informer – October 2, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – October 9, 2013

The Taco Tiaga, formerly Taco Tico at K-15 and Market, has been closed for just over two weeks due to a small fire, which led to officials finding code violations in the building.

Work had yet to be done on the building by Monday, but John Davidson, store manager, said he hopes the problems will be corrected this week.

The fire was reported at 8:11 p.m. on September 17 and fire crews arriving on scene found light smoke in the building and were directed to a steam table as the source of the smoke.

As they removed one of two pans of prepared meat from the warmer they found cardboard had been placed on an internal heating element and it had ignited, according to Deputy Fire Chief Bill Pater. The cardboard had been placed on the table to help level the stainless steel pans because a support bracket had rusted away, Pater said an employee informed the firefighters on scene.

The fire and smoke damage was limited to the warming table and is estimated at about $500. Pater said food products, which were exposed also had to be destroyed.

As a health department inspector arrived on scene, several fire code violations were also discovered. Pater said those violations pertain to annual testing, maintenance and routine cleaning of commercial cooking equipment.

“The Fire Department and Health Department are working with the building owner to correct the fire code violations,” Pater said. “The restaurant will remain closed until final inspections have been completed.”

The fire is the latest in a string of problems the store has had this year. While operating as Taco Tico, the restaurant was closed by the Kansas Department of Revenue on March 4 for non-payment of nearly $434,939 in sales taxes. The owner was allowed to reopen the restaurant fairly quickly, but was closed by the state again on July 11, when the plans for repaying the taxes fell through.

Former owner Mahmood M. Karim of Ajax International sold the company to IIAK Group and it was able to reopen on July 25 as Taco Tinga.