Rosemary's Texas Taco Closes

Two handwritten "Closed till?" signs have been hanging for months on the front door and on a fence at Rosemary's Texas Taco in Patterson.

Fans of the iconic eatery have waited patiently for the doors to reopen, posting curious questions on Facebook and hoping for good news. 

But the restaurant sign is gone. The decorations and trinkets that once covered the front lawn are slowly disappearing, perhaps into the moving truck parked in the lot. And comments from Texas Taco-lovers have turned into notes of sadness and surprise at the apparent closing of the Route 22 landmark.

Many are sending best wishes to the owner, Rosemary Jamison, a Texas native who came to New York in the 1960s. She posted this note on Facebook in January:

"TO ALL MY WONDERFUL LOYAL FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS -- i send all my love. i'm not in the best of health at this time. I will try to beat this challenge and be back with you someday soon. thankyou from the bottom of my heart, ROSEMARY"

Attempts to reach Jamison were unsuccessful.

Her eccentric style went beyond the unusual items that hung all around the restaurant—and the rainbow of colors that bled out onto the pavement of the parking lot—to the purple hair she's donned for decades.

"So sorry to see the vans taking away the fantastic items you had put together in such a wonderful way," one person wrote on the restaurant's Facebook page. "I always brought out of town visitors with me. It was great, the food was great and of course YOU were the [greatest] too. I do hope the next big thing in your life is fantastic. You gave lots of fun to a lot of folks. Thanks."

Here are some of the comments folks have left on the Facebook page: 

• "Think Yaffa Cafe but 100 times cooler. Badass punk rock avante garde kitsch genius wiggy psychedelic visionary retro pop art haven. Oh and there's Mexican food, too! And Chico, the 40-something year old parrot who says "hello" to you repeatedly. In the 70's and 80's Rosemary's monkey actually walked around and chilled with the customers. As if the place wasn't trippily fabulous enough!!! If all this still doesn't have to [sic] tapping in the address right now to Googlemaps on your smartphone, you simply must go to see Rosemary's exceedingly phenomenal, fiercely gorgeous makeup."
• "I've had lots of tacos in my life, and no one makes them even close to you!! My friends and I have been coming to Texas Taco for over 20 years. We are sending you lots of love and best wishes for a speedy recovery, and hope to see you soon!"
• "Been coming by annually for decades. Get well and thanks for the legend."
  
  

Please share your memories in the attached comments section.