From hot tacos to hot messes: Jack in the Box locations close across Tacoma, Lakewood

Where did Jack go?

That’s a question Tacoma and Lakewood fans of Jack in the Box have been asking following the closure of five of the restaurants in the last two months.

The now boarded-up and fenced-off sites are shells of their former selves, with the Tacoma locations attracting garbage, graffiti and, in one case, a stripped and abandoned car.

The City of Tacoma says the four closed properties in its city limits are in violation of code compliance. A check of the Lakewood site with that city found it had no violations.

Tacoma police spokesman detective William Muse shared further details in response to questions, noting, “In short, the buildings have gone back to Jack in the Box International.”

“A regional asset manager has been in contact with our police department. If there is any nuisance issues on the property, they contract with a local business to help resolve issues,” Muse said via email.

Derelict

Recent visits to the four Tacoma sites showed various states of deterioration.

Though a Fife-based franchisee previously operated the sites, each locale has a different property owner, according to Pierce County property records. The bulk of the locations are owned by entities not based in Pierce County.

Matthew Robon is affiliated with the Issaquah-based LLC that owns the former Jack in the Box at 4702 Center St.

That property, near Home Depot, has a solar-powered security tower parked in a drive-thru lane. Where customers once ordered hamburgers and fries, blue strobe lights flash.

Robon, reached via email, referred questions to Jack in the Box’s corporate team “as they are best positioned to address questions about the security, maintenance, and safety of their locations.”

Jack in the Box, meanwhile, isn’t talking about why the restaurants shut down. Its media-relations representatives and investor-relations representative did not respond to multiple requests for comment and questions from The News Tribune.

In its latest earnings report released Nov. 20, Jack in the Box reported that nationwide it “had 16 new restaurant openings and 20 restaurant closures during the fourth quarter,” without specifying locations.

Closures and decline

While several Jack in the Box locations remain open in Pierce County (including five in Tacoma), four Tacoma locations are now shuttered:

▪ 2422 Pacific Ave.

▪ 7605 S. Hosmer St.

▪ 6702 Sixth Ave.

▪ 4702 Center St.

The closure list includes 8814 S. Tacoma Way, Lakewood. It is unclear the exact date of the closures, but a review of online comments indicates the sites ceased operations sometime in September.

All five restaurants were operated by the franchisee, AJP Enterprises LLC of Fife.

In 2012, the Jack in the Box corporation announced that AJP Enterprises had acquired 26 Jack in the Box restaurants in the “greater Seattle area.”

Another AJP-run Jack in the Box in Sequim also has closed, according to a report Oct. 9 in the Sequim Gazette.

AJP did not respond to requests for comment from The News Tribune.

Jack in the Box as a whole has been expanding, with new locations planned in six states. In the Nov. 20 earnings report, the chain said that for fiscal year 2024, nationwide it had “opened 30 new restaurants, and was net positive 5 restaurants.”

Fenced off

The former Jack in the Box at Mildred and Sixth Avenue in Tacoma recently had a fence erected around it, according to neighbors, after it began attracting people who weren’t looking for tacos. A car on blocks sits in the parking lot.

“It’s just always kind of been a pretty rundown Jack in the Box, even when it was open,” said Mindy Metcalf, the facility director for a dog day care business across the street. She said numerous cars showed up in the parking lot after it closed.

Muse of the Tacoma Police Department admitted to certain limits on outside efforts to address issues.

“For example, if a car is abandoned on the property, because it is a private property, we cannot tow the vehicle,” he said via email. “The property owner will be responsible for it, and the local contractor will take care of it.”

He added that there is documentation regarding trespassing associated with all of the properties, “meaning that if someone is on the property that shouldn’t be, patrol officers will be able to enforce the trespass order, either by directing people from the property or arresting them.”

Welcome to Tacoma

Located right at the gateway to downtown Tacoma, the fenced-off Jack in the Box at South 26th Street and Pacific Avenue is covered in graffiti. A few campaign signs for Pierce County Sheriff-elect Keith Swank are attached to the building.

Still another on the corner of South Hosmer and South 76th streets is missing half its fencing, while someone has been busy spray-painting the name “Ricky” on the building.

“The graffiti is unfortunate, but the corporation is not identifying themselves as a victim,” Muse said via email.

He added, “I believe some of these locations have security that monitor or at least drive through once every few hours throughout the day and night.”

Violations

City media representative Maria Lee confirmed with The News Tribune that all of the now-closed Tacoma sites are in compliance with the city concerning their grease traps. Speculation on social media had questioned the city’s grease trap requirements as a potential reason for the closures.

She also said all four restaurants in Tacoma have active business licenses.

Inspectors from the city’s code-compliance department investigated the four sites and found violations, Lee said, but didn’t have further details.

“The City is in the process of notifying the property owner of violations,” she said. “Those notices are anticipated to go out later this week.”

If someone sees something potentially illegal occurring at the properties, Muse wrote, that those “concerned about emergent criminal activity can call 911, or call 311 to report non-emergent, nuisance crimes.”

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