Jamestown residents will have one more reasons to smile today, when Taco Hut resumes take out service after closing its doors for the majority of the COVID-19 shutdown.

While many restaurants have remained open to their customers through delivery orders and curbside service, Taco Hut made the difficult decision to shut down completely during the pandemic out of concern for the health of its customers and employees.

Owner Jim Mason, who turned 80 on May 24, struggled with the decision to reopen for carry-out service.

“I’ve got a very nice sit-down restaurant and I’d rather have my customers come in and sit down and enjoy the food inside. But if that’s what I can get, that’s what I can get,” Mason said.

When Jim and his wife Kim Mason made the decision to resume service, they were met by a wave of gratitude from their loyal base of customers.

“I’m thrilled to death, because it’s like having everybody on your side,” Mason said. “Some of my senior people took it upon themselves (to get started). They went ahead and did the necessary work in the building to get it ready. There’s always a lot of pre-prep for an opening or on a daily basis. They were in there taking care of that, and I’m so glad they did because I needed it.” Mason said that the standard Taco Hut menu has been trimmed down slightly for the first reopening period, but customers can certainly expect many of their favorite items.

“I’ll have my customers, there’s no doubt about that,” Mason said.

“I just hate to put my employees in a situation where they’re not making any money because they’re not working.”

Even for restaurants that can make the shift to takeout service, there are still plenty of normal staff members like bartenders and servers who are not working. Despite these lingering issues for the entire restaurant industry, being able to reopen in any capacity remains a source of optimism for the future.

“That makes us feel very proud that we are in this community,” Kim Mason said of the recent support. “We understand how other businesses feel, we understand how the customers feel, we understand how employees feel. Jamestown is vigilant. We’re strong, and we’re all going to come together and this too shall pass.”