A Cook Out restaurant concept is coming to Charlotte. What we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cook Out expands Taco Roos test concept with new location in Charlotte in 2025.
- Taco Roos menu features walking tacos, quesadillas, nachos and a la carte items.
- Cook Out remains silent on long-term plans despite public speculation and interest.
Cook Out, the Thomasville‑based fast food giant famed for chargrilled burgers and more than 40 milkshake flavors, is expanding its experimental taco concept, Taco Roos, to Charlotte.
Mecklenburg County permits filed in March confirm plans for a location at 9615 N. Tryon St., next to an existing Cook Out restaurant.
An opening date for Taco Roos has not yet been released. Cook Out did not respond to requests for additional comment from CharlotteFive for this story.
New Cook Out restaurants
Cook Out has been quietly testing new restaurant concepts across North Carolina in recent years, experimenting with tacos and fried chicken under different brand names.
But some suspect the attempts are in vain.
Taco Roos will be the latest Cook Out expansion effort in Charlotte, after the fast food chain opened three locations in the area over the last year.
What is Taco Roos?
Taco Roos first debuted in Wilmington in 2020, blending “walking tacos” served in Doritos bags alongside a limited selection of Cook Out menu items, but that location later reverted to a standard Cook Out format, Axios reported.
But due to theories floating around about the eatery, it spawned parody social accounts and community speculation about Cook Out’s intentions behind the branding strategy, Axios reported. Some even jokingly referred to it as the “Taco Ruse” concept.
The restaurant followed up with a dual‑branded location in Raleigh called Roo’s Chicken, a breakfast and fried chicken concept, The News & Observer reported, although some suspect it functioned as a second Cook Out location due to zoning restrictions.
“These chicken wars are going to tear this town apart and I never trusted Cook Out to play fair,” a user commented on a Reddit post shortly before Roo’s Chicken opened.
Taco Roos menu
According to the Taco Roos website, offerings will include ground beef, chicken and fish tacos with sides and drinks, alongside items sold a la carte, such as quesadillas and nachos.
It’s unclear whether burgers or shakes will be part of the lineup.
This story was originally published August 6, 2025 at 8:45 AM.
