FORT COLLINS - Within just days after the closure of Fort Collins' last Carl's Jr location, coming soon signs have already been installed advertising Taco Palace Mexican Fast Food coming soon, a Mexican-themed fast food restaurant with locations in Denver, Longmont, and Brighton.
A glance at the history: Carl's Jr and Hardee's
Similar to a nearby location in Cheyenne, Fort Collins' Carl's Jr started as a Hardee's. According to the Larimer County Property Assessor, the Hardee's building was built in 1984. The Coloradoan stated that the restaurant became a Carl's Jr in 1998.
The Coloradoan reported that the restaurant closed on July 28th, 2025. In Optopolis' visit on August 4th, the remaining signage from Carl's Jr thanked Fort Collins for 40+ years of serving the community. The sign says, "It's been an honor." They tell customers to come find Carl's Jr in Downtown Loveland.
 Sign on drive thru window includes message to visitors, can also be found on the other side of the building. - Optopolis |
Other nearby Carl's Jr locations include Crossroads Boulevard (also Loveland), Downtown Cheyenne (Wyoming), Greeley (two locations), and Longmont (two locations). Hardee's doesn't appear to have any Colorado locations, but they still have two locations in northeast Wyoming and some locations in Nebraska.
Taco Palace jumps for a Fort Collins location days after Carl's Jr Closure
Taco Palace Mexican Fast Food is a small selection of Mexican-fast-food restaurants located in northern Colorado. They already have three locations including Denver (2300 S Broadway, former Taco Bell), Longmont (305 Ken Pratt Blvd, former Good Times), and Brighton (2020 E Bridge St, former Dairy Queen).
 Taco Palace seen in Longmont, Colorado - Optopolis |
Taco Palace has many Mexican-themed items on their menu including burritos, rolled tacos, tortas, quesadillas, chimichangas, and more. Largely, it's what one would expect when visiting a Mexican restaurant in North America.
As of the time of Optopolis' visit on August 4th, within just days after Carl's Jr's closure, Carl's Jr's signage had mostly been removed from the exterior of the building. On the drive-thru menu board, only a "Go Large" sign remained from Carl's Jr. The order screen still displayed the message, "Confirm Order Here."
| Various photos of the now-former Carl's Jr in Fort Collins - Optopolis |
As of the time of writing, it's unclear to Optopolis when this location will open. Upon searching for the restaurant's address, no permits appear to have yet been added to the Fort Collins Permits website, and the location isn't yet added to Taco Palace's website. From a distance, a large, star-shaped furnishing could still be seen inside of the dining room.
Let us know your thoughts...
Have you tried Taco Palace? Do you think they'll find success at this new location in Fort Collins? Let us know what you think in the comments!
PUBLISHED: 08/07/2025 at 12:30 PM MT
UPDATED: N/A