Fuzzy's Taco Shop ~ national chain : Colorado Springs, Colorado

Latest visit: Jun 2024 (Colorado Springs - Interquest)

First visit: Nov 2009 (North Richland Hills, TX)

HQ: Kansas City, MO. Purchased by Dine Brands (2022). (Founded: 2001 in Fort Worth, TX)

Locations: Currently they are in 18 states (no change) with 4 here in the Springs (same). Our original locations of NRH and Southlake are still there.

OK back at Fuzzy's for the first time this year. Mrs. RJG is back to thumbing it down (we went one more time last year that soured her possibly for good this time) so I went solo on this visit. Probably a good thing, as there would have been a couple of things that bothered her. For one, the Mahi option is gone and its in place is Cod, though that's not such a bad thing. But the deal killer would have been the cold corn tortillas. Oh that's a big no-no in Mrs. RJG's world. You have to warm them up. Along with the cod I added my usuals of one grilled chicken taco and two ground beef. The flavors are still very good, including the Cod, and I've always enjoyed their two bottled hot sauces (regular and habanero). It does seem the tacos are a bit smaller indicating a bit if shrinkflation is happening here. And the prices are stubbornly high. Publicly traded restaurants are rarely any good for the consumer as we've noted since the beginning of this blog. It's all about the profit, and that's just the way public markets work. The restaurant was fairly empty on a Friday at lunch, unheard of only two years ago. Since it's a work day I passed on my annual frozen margarita and hit the soda fountain which was mixed properly (not always a given). I sat outside for the first time at this location as there was a pleasant breeze cooling us off after three days of way above average temperatures. But that breeze turned to gusty winds, and back inside I went.

For my tastes, I'm keeping it in the RJG rotation. Probably will move to a sober weekday lunch place versus a liquid weekend lunch. Ah well, no biggee.

---4/30/23 update

Last year I closed our annual review with "I'll be back anyway, hopefully sooner than this last spell. Probably Mrs. RJG will be too..." And so it came to pass that we did beat the end of July date. And... I was able to convince Mrs. RJG to go with me again! We've been covering Fuzzy's since the advent of this blog, and it was a long time favorite of ours living in the Fort Worth area (NE Tarrant county as I often refer to). On this visit, I'm happy to say, we are back to A-1 with Fuzzy's! Too expensive of course, but who isn't? I went with my usual tempura mahi, fajita chicken, and 2 ground beef tacos. And the Mrs. had the first two tacos with black beans and cilantro rice. She wanted borracha beans, but they don't offer those anymore, but she stated that the black beans were even better! The two salsas they provide are as good as ever, especially the habanero. All came out perfect this time. And of course, we each enjoyed our "globe glass" margaritas. Hers on the rocks, mine frozen. This remains my annual margarita intake, but I sure do enjoy it. All the data about this location can be found below, but we're back to this being an RJG favorite!

Now for some chain news: The website is tough to navigate, so we'll go with some general totals. Fuzzy's is currently in 18 states. There are 4 locations here in Colorado Springs. Our original locations of Southlake and North Richland Hills are still up and running. They are now owned (as of Dec 2022) by Dine Brands Global (gee, what an innovative name) who also own no-way-RJG-goes-there brands of IHOP and Applebee's. Ah well, we have the history with Fuzzy's so we'll stand strong behind them. Maybe they'll divest some day?

---7/31/22 update

We're way late on our annual review. We're almost into August and this is our first visit of the year. I ordered my staple of 4 tacos: 1 tempura shrimp; 1 fajita chicken; 2 ground beef tacos. And Mrs. RJG had the Taco Plate with tempura shrimp, fajita chicken, rice, and beans. I got a frozen margarita and she got one on the rocks. I enjoyed my meal and she did not. And she has now sworn off Fuzzy's for like the 5th time. Haha. She did this back in NE Tarrant too. Fine, I'll go by myself then. She said the rice and beans weren't hot, and her margarita tasted like lemonade. See what happens when you deviate from Mr. RJG? lol. I never drink anything stronger than beer or wine, and frozen margs are my one indulgence beyond that. And this is the first time I've had one in almost a year. I like their tacos, I love their 2 taco sauces (medium and habanero), and the frozen marg puts it all together. I will say it does seem they cut back a bit on the portions. And it's way too expensive like everywhere else. I'll be back anyway, hopefully sooner than this last spell. Probably Mrs. RJG will be too...

Fuzzy's Taco Shop first opened near TCU in Fort Worth around 2003 or so and was an instant hit in the area. Today there are over 200 locations in at least 19 states. There are 4 in the Springs and 8 in Denver (and more north of there). In our old stomping grounds of NE Tarrant, there are 6 (including Roanoke). Our original primary location of Southlake is still open as well. 

---3/15/20 update

The RJG was thrilled that we didn't have to give up Fuzzy's when we left the DFW area. They are a Fort Worth original after all. Wow, this Fuzzy's is much more elaborate than what we had in Texas. A full bar for one thing! At our former primary location in Southlake, we had a choice of about 6 beers and there was one margarita machine. And it was a small spot in a strip mall. The one here off Interquest is a large standalone restaurant (still quick service) with what looks like a massive 7-11 Slurpee selection - except of the adult variety. And plenty of craft beers, much more so than what we saw in Texas. And the place is often packed to the rafters - forget getting a seat on weekend nights. I've only ventured for an early lunch, and even then, you can see the crowds coming. I guess the concept has been a huge hit here in the Rockies.

One pandemic historical footnote: This was the last place Mrs. RJG and I dined at before the hard lockdowns in March of 2020. It was so eerie. 

---original 4/14/11 review (Southlake, TX)

Fuzzy's are the pioneers in what we call tacos y margaritas, and these kind of places are popular everywhere today. Their tacos (or what they call Baja Tacos) are excellent and feature a wide variety of choices from grilled or tempura shrimp to shredded pork and onto more traditional offerings like shredded beef, chicken, and spiced ground beef. Soft or hard corn shells are offered. They also have breakfast, burritos, tortas (called grilled sandwiches here), salads, and soups. Be sure to try their habanero sauce - it's definitely got a kick. Even their regular table sauce (Butt Burnin!) packs some heat. We eat here regularly, and it's consistently good.

Fuzzy's also has a nice selection of taps, including local craft brewers. And their frozen margaritas are as good as most of the Mexican restaurants in the (DFW) area - and at a fair price (and stop here, as this is one of the few things I'm going to say Texas does better than Colorado - and frozen margs are one of them. But with Fuzzy's that problem has been solved!). And they're not afraid to put tequila in the mixture. This is definitely an adult fast food place. Nothing beats a good craft beer or frozen marg with fajita chicken and tempura shrimp tacos slathered in habanero sauce!

11/25/09; 4/14/11 (new entry); 11/21/11; 2/19/12; 7/10/15; 10/4/16; 2/11/18; 3/15/20; 1/31/21; 7/31/22; 4/30/23; 6/7/24

North Richland Hills, Texas; Southlake, Texas; Colorado Springs, Colorado