Oakdale's Baja Sol to Open Again

The temporary closure of the Oakdale Baja Sol Tortilla Grill restaurant will soon come to an end, and the store is celebrating with a grand re-opening April 1.

The first 50 customers to the newly reopened Mexican fast-casual restaurant that day will get free tacos for one year, and all customers will get to sample the store’s new caramel and chocolate-topped sundaes with a cinnamon churro for dipping while supplies last, said Dan Edward, president and part owner of the company.

The store opens at 10:30 a.m. April 1.

Oakdale Community Development Director Bob Streetar said it’s good to see that the restaurant—which is located in Oakdale Village near Caribou Coffee—will be adding jobs.

“I’m glad the space is going to be filled,” he said. “I think it’s good for the landlord and hopefully Baja Sol will hire back the people that got laid off and at least look at hiring Oakdale residents looking for employment.”

Edward said it is possible past workers would be returning, but he wasn’t sure.

The restaurant opened in late 2008 and then closed last fall when the franchise owner could no longer keep it open, Edward said. He said he didn’t know why the franchisee closed the shop, however, the Oakdale Lake Elmo Review reported earlier this year that it was because the owner fell ill.

Now, instead of being owned and managed by a franchisee, it will be corporately run, Edward said. It’s one of seven corporate Baja Sol restaurants in addition to five franchises, he said. The company is currently expanding with a store recently opened in Maple Grove, and two to three more restaurants in the planning stages, he said.

In the Oakdale restaurant, the company didn’t have to do a lot of work to prepare for re-opening, just some “sprucing up,” he said.

Traditionally, he said, the restaurant has gotten most of its business at lunch, but some changes are being made to try to attract a dinner crowd, he said.

One such change is an upgrade from paper plates to “real” plates and silverware, he said. They’re also offering kids meals for 99 cents after 4 p.m. and on the weekends, he said, a deal that has proven popular at the restaurant’s Maple Grove location.

Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Tony Sutton and his wife Bridget Sutton are no longer part-owners of the restaurant chain, Edward said.