Taco Bell restaurants restaurant
How the restaurant TACO BELL was created
Taco Bell is the world's most renowned fast food chain specializing in adapted Mexican cuisine. Today more than 6,500 establishments around the world operate under this brand. The network is being developed by Yum! Brands, which also owns the KFC and Pizza Hut brands.
The creator of Taco Bell is American Glen Bell. A former Marine and World War II veteran, after demobilization, he decided to go into a fast food business. He opened his first diner, Bell's Drive In, in 1948, inspired by the success of McDonald’s created a few years earlier. After a while, Bell decided to change the focus of his hot dog establishment, as there were many Hispanics among his clients. This is how the traditional Mexican cuisine tacos, burritos and nachos appeared on the menu.
In 1954, Bell opened three Taco Tias, and in 1955, having sold these establishments, created a new project - El Tacos fast food restaurants. Finally, in 1962, the world saw the first Taco Bell restaurants.
Since 1964 Bell began selling the franchise for the opening of the chain's establishments. By 1975, 868 restaurants operated under the Taco Bell sign. In 1978, Bell sold Taco Bell to PepsiCo for $ 125 million. After changing the owner, the network went outside the United States.
The first overseas Taco Bell restaurants opened in Canada and Australia in 1981. After them, establishments appeared in China, Great Britain, Germany, Iceland, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore and the Republic of Korea, Cyprus. In the first European country for Taco Bell - Great Britain - after the network appeared in the mid-1980s, by the end of the 1990s, all establishments were closed, and only reappeared in the late 2000s.
In 1991, the network launched the first Taco Bell Express outlet in San Francisco. These establishments have a smaller floor space and a more concise menu compared to regular-format restaurants - mainly items that cost less than $ 1. Taco Bell Express points operate in shopping centers and airports, in the form of mobile kiosks.
Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. was formed in 1997 from PepsiCo, which owned the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut brands. After the takeover of Yorkshire Global Restaurants (Long John Silver's and A&W All-American Food chains) in 2002, the company was renamed Yum! Brands, Inc. Of the more than 6,500 Taco Bell restaurants owned by the company, about 80% are operated by franchisees.
In March 2001, Taco Bell announced an action timed to coincide with the sinking of the Mir space station. They towed a large target into the Pacific, announcing that if the target was hit by a falling chunk of the orbital station, everyone in the United States would be eligible for a free Bell Taco taco. Not a single part of the station hit the target.
On May 16, 2002, the company that owned the Taco Bell network changed its name to Yum! Brands.
In 2003, Taco Bell entered the Chinese market by opening a restaurant in Shanghai called Taco Bell Grande. Three more TBG restaurants opened before they closed in 2008.
In 2016, Taco Bell launched its flagship restaurant, Taco Bell Catina, located in Las Vegas. This 24-hour restaurant offers many unique features including alcohol, special menu items and a DJ. In August 2017, it was announced that the restaurant would start hosting weddings, which is not surprising since Las Vegas is considered the world's wedding capital.
In 2017, Forever 21 launched a clothing line in partnership with Taco Bell, which includes branded T-shirts, hoodies and bodysuits.