Restaurateur Rick McLain, founder of Nataz restaurants and the Great American Street Food Company (GASFCO), is bringing his fast-casual, budget-friendly meals to Clinton with his fourth take-out only place.
McLain opened his fourth GAFSCO eatery Aug. 5 at 1 West Main St., in a kiosk attached to his full-service restaurant, Nataz in the old Clinton National Bank building, he said.
His latest GASFCO occupies 400 square feet of space with its own small kitchen and is run as a separate business, McLain said. He said he waited on the very first customer at the Clinton location.
The menu at GASFCO offers cheeseburgers made with ground Black Angus beef scraps from the main restaurant, Chicago-style dogs and clam strip rolls with orders consisting of two sandwiches. Also offered are shrimp po’ boy sandwiches, a New Haven-style sub with porketta and Toscano salami, a variety “L.A. street tacos” and seafood sandwiches – from clam strips, whole bellies, fried fish filets to lobster rolls.
The chef-owner is also in the process of opening another GASFCO in Stratford in the spot where the old Danny’s Drive In Stratford at 940 Ferry Boulevard sometime this month. McLain said he expects this one to be the busiest of all because it was a popular burger joint for 87 years.
The Clinton and Stratford locations join McLain’s two other fast-casual GASFCOs in Southington and North Branford, totaling four.
The other GASFCOs are located next door to the three Nataz, fine dining establishments in Clinton, North Branford and Southington, making a total of even eateries for McLain. Only the Stratford location is in a standalone building, not near a sister restaurant.
Unlike Nataz, GASFCO is a take-out only restaurant with ordering online or at the kiosk out front, he said. This model allows him to save on labor and overhead, keeping costs low, he said.
In Clinton, hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday for now, McLain said.
