Missoula has lost two taco restaurants inside a month, and in both cases the owners were the ones who said so first.

Taco Sano: the building was the problem

Taco Sano’s last day was Friday, October 30. The shop describes itself on its own Instagram as a “locally owned burrito shop on the hip strip”, at 115½ S 4th St W.

The reason came from the business itself, posted to that account:

“This building has been slated for demolition more than once in the last few years and with that we have looked at new paths. We were offered a new lease but with CAM fees and unpredictable food costs, it just didn’t make sense.”

CAM fees — common area maintenance — are the share of a building’s upkeep a commercial tenant pays on top of rent: snow removal, parking, lighting, landscaping, the roof. A tenant does not control them, they move year to year, and on a renewal they can arrive as a number the business is simply told. They are the kind of line that decides whether a small restaurant signs again, and they rarely make the headline when a place closes.

The Missoulian, reporting the closure the same week, said a new building is planned for the site. Nothing further about that project has been made public, and we have not seen plans.

Taco Del Sol: almost thirty years

A few weeks earlier, Taco Del Sol announced it was closing for good, ending a run the Missoulian put at 29 years at its downtown spot on North Higgins. Founder Dave Beaton told the paper:

“We’ve been there almost 30 years. It was great to be a part of downtown. You kind of know when it’s your time. We’ve been there a long time for a small restaurant.”

Two closures in a month is not a trend on its own, and the two have little in common beyond the food — one was pushed out by a building, the other chose its moment. But they were both small, both long-running, and both downtown-adjacent, which is the part worth noticing.

For the other side of the ledger, here is what opened around Missoula this autumn, and the county tax bill landing in the same month.

Sources

• Missoula Current, “Missoula Is Losing Another Taco Restaurant, and This One Closes Friday,” Ace Sauerwein, October 27, 2026 — missoulacurrent.com
• Taco Sano, closure statement and business details on its own Instagram account — @tacosano.msla
• Missoulian, “Taco Sano in Missoula announces permanent closure this week; new building planned” — the planned building is reported there and nowhere else we could read
• Missoulian, “Taco del Sol in downtown Missoula closes after 29 years” — the 29-year figure is the paper’s
• Dave Beaton’s remarks were given to the Missoulian, October 9, 2026, and are quoted here as reported by the Missoula Current