Kearney Taco John’s owner vows to rebuild after fire destroys restaurant

KEARNEY, Neb. — The owner of the Kearney Taco John’s franchises says he plans to rebuild at the site of Wednesday morning’s fire.

Ed Wiltgen woke up to a phone call from Kearney Police saying his restaurant on E 25th St. was on fire. Firefighters fought the blaze, which was reported shortly before 2:00 a.m., for nearly 3.5 hours before considering it contained. Nobody was inside at the time and there were no injuries.

Even with the shock of the fire still fresh, Wiltgen knows his plans for the future of the business.

“We’ll scrape it off and then plan on building a new Taco John’s," Wiltgen said. "Our customer base here are all great people. We wouldn’t have lasted this long without them.”

Wiltgen’s father, Jim, opened the Taco John’s location in 1980. Wiltgen had just renovated the building, replacing the lights, ceiling, seating, painting and all of the equipment. But losing the equipment and structure isn’t the toughest part.

“For me, the hardest part is probably the memories," Wiltgen said. "I worked here when I was in high school and all my friends did and there’s a lot of people that have worked here. Also, all the great people that we have as customers that I got to know over the years.”

The state fire marshal’s office is still investigating what caused the fire. Wiltgen says it will likely be a couple of weeks before the building is completely demolished.

Wiltgen also owns the Taco John's on E 56th St. in Kearney.