Every time anyone talks about Mexican cuisine, crispy tacos and flavourful burritos are the first things to pop up in our heads. But do you know, these lip-smacking dishes have been declared as ‘Mexican-style sandwiches”? Yes, you read that right. A yearlong debate between a restaurateur and the county commission ended after an Indiana Judge ruled, “tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches.” As per a report by USA Today, this ruling is rooted in a case that started in 2019. Martin Quintana, who is the owner of a Mexican-style restaurant, sought zoning approvals from the Fort Wayne Plan Commission. Citing the court documents, the report revealed that Martin’s “request was to upgrade the space from a single-family designation to a limited commercial occupancy for his business.”
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Martin Quintana’s restaurant, which serves made-to-order burritos, tacos and other food items, is located about 125 miles north of Indianapolis. Now, in a bid for Martin’s request to get approved, he was supposed to agree to a written commitment that came with specific restrictions on his business. The restriction stated that Martin’s restaurant had to be a “sandwich bar-style” facility that served “made-to-order” or “Subway-style” sandwiches. Additionally, the court document noted that this commitment excluded fast-food restaurant chains—Arby’s, McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

The report quoted Martin Quintana’s representative in 2022 as saying, “It kind of became an argument of… is a taco a sandwich or not. So, we thought it’s easier to agree that it fits within the character and scope of what we had anticipated. And so we have an amendment.”

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The New York Post weighs in, after years of legal proceedings, earlier this week, the Allen Superior Court’s Judge Craig Bobay ruled that Martin’s Famous Taco was eligible to open. The judge noted that Famous Taco can operate its business under the terms of the original written commitment created in 2019. While giving his decision, Judge Bobay said, “The Court agrees with Quintana that tacos and burritos are Mexican style-sandwiches, and the original written agreement does not restrict potential restaurants to only American cuisine-styled sandwiches.”

Judge Bobay added, “The original written commitment would also permit a restaurant that serves made-to-order Greek gyros, Indian naan wraps, or Vietnamese banh mi if these restaurants complied with the other enumerated conditions.”

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