"Significant life-threatening violations of the International Property Management Code, 2024 edition." The Berthoud Weekly Surveyor reported that wording from the legal notices posted on the doors of Taco Bell and Maverik on Friday, Aug. 14. Another sign on the Taco Bell door sent customers to the chain's Loveland and Longmont locations.
The McDonald's next door had already been closed for several weeks. Once Taco Bell and Maverik closed too, the Surveyor reported, the whole eastern section of the Grand Market Avenue business area was dark.
Three months later, the cones and tape still make it look like one shutdown. The Town of Berthoud's own updates tell a different story. The three properties are now on separate tracks: McDonald's is moving toward demolition, while Taco Bell and Maverik are working on repairs that the town says could possibly let them reopen before the end of the year.
How three closures on one block became three separate cases
The three businesses didn't close the same way. McDonald's shut voluntarily before the town stepped in. The Loveland Reporter-Herald reported that it closed "due to similar problems." Taco Bell and Maverik were ordered out on Aug. 14 after fire and building officials found conditions that posed an "imminent danger" to occupants.
That difference shaped everything after it. A business that closes itself decides its own next step. A business under a notice to vacate has to complete corrective work the town spells out before anyone can go back inside.
The Reporter-Herald reported that the Taco Bell problems went back to at least January 2025. That's when Berthoud Fire Marshal Sarah Winter said fire officials first noticed some of the restaurant's doors were becoming inoperable. The restaurant kept the doors working for a while, partly by grinding down concrete. At one point the fire district limited the building to employees only, then let it fully reopen once the doors were repaired. The order to vacate came after officials learned a rear employee door had stopped working entirely and its frame had separated from the building.
Winter explained the reasoning to the Reporter-Herald in one line:
"People have to be able to get out when they are supposed to get out."
What the inspections found at both properties
Exit doors were the immediate trigger, but the town's findings at both properties went well beyond them. According to the Reporter-Herald's account of the inspection reports:
- Taco Bell: The section of the building holding the walk-in cooler had come loose from the main structure, which inspectors blamed on a lack of support from the soil or foundation system. The kitchen door frame had separated from the building, and the lobby doors weren't working as designed. Cracks in the sidewalks and driveways exceeded the limits in the town's building code.
- Maverik: The fuel canopy was out of plumb, which the report said meant the soils or foundation system weren't properly carrying the load the canopy was designed for. One eastern door wouldn't work, another couldn't open to the required 90 degrees, a front door had jammed against the ground, and the rear door took "significant bodily force" to open. Inspectors also documented damaged concrete across the property, separating joints in the exterior siding, and electrical circuits that were damaged, pinched or shorting.
The fixes the town required matched the findings. Taco Bell needed a licensed structural engineer to evaluate the detached section and prepare a stabilization design. Maverik needed a similar engineering evaluation of the movement affecting its building and fuel canopy.
Those requirements point toward repair, not removal, and they're the reason two of the three properties have a possible path back to opening.
Where each property stands, by the town's own record
Berthoud Town Administrator Chris Kirk sends the Board of Trustees a "Leadership Team Updates" memo every two weeks. The memos cover hot topics, key projects and upcoming calendar items, and they've carried a running entry on "Properties at Grand Market Avenue and North Berthoud Parkway" since late summer.
Read in order, the memos show how the three cases split apart.
| Property | September 14 memo | October 27 memo |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald's | Town staff and the Building Official met with the demolition contractor on Aug. 13, followed by a multi-department site visit and a second meeting Aug. 25. "A demolition expectation plan is under development." | "McDonald's and Town continue discussing site and building demolition plans." |
| Taco Bell | Notice to vacate posted by Fire Chief Long on Aug. 14, with findings and required corrective action provided. Taco Bell representatives have been in contact with the town. | Taco Bell representatives continue to discuss remediation plans. Proposed structural modifications "could possibly allow for re-opening before the end of the year." |
| Maverik | Notice to vacate posted Aug. 14. The town and fire district met with Maverik on Aug. 31. "Plans to stabilize the site with the goal of re-opening the business are in development." | Maverik has been told to repair the fueling canopy and concrete or close the fueling portion of the property. Remediation talks continue, with the same possible reopening before year-end. |
Between those two memos, the town's late-September update added a detail about McDonald's. Town staff, SAFEBuilt and McDonald's representatives were working through demolition plans designed to avoid disrupting utilities and drainage.
Every one of these updates is official, but what the reopening language actually commits to matters. The October 27 memo says structural modifications "have been proposed" and "could possibly" allow reopening before the end of the year. That's the most hopeful wording the town has used for Taco Bell and Maverik so far. It describes a proposal, not finished work.
The rest of the corner is being watched, not closed
The Grand Market Avenue entry in each memo covers more than the three closed businesses. The town says the properties at Grand Market Avenue and North Berthoud Parkway are being monitored by town staff, SAFEBuilt and the Berthoud Fire Protection District. The Aug. 25 memo said SAFEBuilt was monitoring the Starbucks.
In early September, the town sent a letter explaining its concern to Starbucks and to the strip center west of it.
That letter was outreach. Neither memo describes a closure order, a vacate notice or any finding against those buildings.
As for why the ground moved, the town hasn't publicly settled the question. When the Reporter-Herald covered the closures in August, the town's reports pointed to possible problems with soils and foundation systems without naming an underlying cause. Town spokesperson Stephanie Horvath said determining the cause would take information from the businesses and their engineers.
The topic reached the Berthoud Plan Commission on Sept. 10. According to a Citizen Portal summary of that meeting, commissioners spent a good part of the meeting pressing staff about recurring soil and foundation problems, including the settling at McDonald's and Taco Bell, and asked about inspections and whether code updates or consultants were needed.
Where the Exit 250 interchange still feeds and fuels you
For now, the eastern stretch of Grand Market Avenue can't cover a quick drive-thru stop. The closest dependable option at the same interchange is the Love's Travel Stop #668 at 3800 E State Highway 56, at I-25 Exit 250. Love's location page lists:
- A store that's open 24 hours, with fuel prices posted online
- A Taco John's, also open 24 hours
- A Subway, open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
For anyone who relied on the Taco Bell or McDonald's on the way to or from I-25, that's the same exit with a short detour along Highway 56.
The town's Oct. 27 memo also brought news from the other end of Berthoud's commercial map. Mary's Mountain Cookies opened Oct. 25 and sold out of cookies.
How to follow the next chapter
Since the memos come out every two weeks, the next status change will most likely show up there before it shows up on a door. They're posted to the Town of Berthoud's Document Center under file names like "Board Update Memo." The latest one carries the file name 11042026, but the date printed inside is October 27, 2026.
Here's what to look for in each case:
- McDonald's: a finished demolition plan, then the work itself, done in a way that protects the utilities and drainage the town has flagged.
- Taco Bell: approval of the proposed structural modifications to the section that separated from the main building.
- Maverik: a decision on the fueling canopy and concrete, meaning either repair or closing the fueling portion, along with the building remediation.
The end-of-year window the town mentioned is about six weeks away from this post's publication. Whether either business makes it depends on work that, as of the October 27 memo, was still at the proposal stage.
At Dwellings Colorado, we follow these updates the same way we follow the market, block by block, so our clients get clear, current answers instead of guesswork. If you're curious how your own Berthoud home fits into today's market, start with a free home valuation and a conversation with a senior broker who's paying attention.
