Taco Bell is an American fast food restaurant chain that serves Tex-Mex foods.
Former U.S. marine Glen Bell started his first hot dog stand, called Bell's Drive-In, in San Bernardino in 1948.
Glen Bell funded his hot dog stand by selling his sister's refrigerator for start-up cash.
In late 1951, Bell sold the hot dog stand and built a second stand that sold hot dogs and hamburgers.
Glen Bell regularly ate at a popular Mexican restaurant across the road. He attempted to reverse-engineer their taco recipe, before eventually persuading the owners to show him how they were prepared. With this knowledge, he started selling in early 1952 tacos at a stand named Taco-Tia from a side window. Priced 19 cents each, it wasn't long, they were outselling the burgers and hot dogs.
Bell opened his first stand-alone Mexican restaurant on March 21, 1962. A friend convinced him to be a little egotistical and call his restaurant Taco Bell. Bell franchised his restaurant two years later.
Bell's company grew rapidly, and by 1967 the 100th Taco Bell restaurant had opened.
The 868 Taco Bell restaurant chain was sold to PepsiCo in 1978 for $125 million in stock.
In 1996 as an April Fools Day hoax, Taco Bell printed in six major American newspapers that it had bought The Liberty Bell and was renaming it The Taco Liberty Bell. The joke achieved $25 million in free publicity.
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| Taco Bell, Taos New Mexico - 2011. By John Phelan |
Former U.S. marine Glen Bell started his first hot dog stand, called Bell's Drive-In, in San Bernardino in 1948.
Glen Bell funded his hot dog stand by selling his sister's refrigerator for start-up cash.
In late 1951, Bell sold the hot dog stand and built a second stand that sold hot dogs and hamburgers.
Glen Bell regularly ate at a popular Mexican restaurant across the road. He attempted to reverse-engineer their taco recipe, before eventually persuading the owners to show him how they were prepared. With this knowledge, he started selling in early 1952 tacos at a stand named Taco-Tia from a side window. Priced 19 cents each, it wasn't long, they were outselling the burgers and hot dogs.
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| Glen Bell |
Bell opened his first stand-alone Mexican restaurant on March 21, 1962. A friend convinced him to be a little egotistical and call his restaurant Taco Bell. Bell franchised his restaurant two years later.
Bell's company grew rapidly, and by 1967 the 100th Taco Bell restaurant had opened.
The 868 Taco Bell restaurant chain was sold to PepsiCo in 1978 for $125 million in stock.
In 1996 as an April Fools Day hoax, Taco Bell printed in six major American newspapers that it had bought The Liberty Bell and was renaming it The Taco Liberty Bell. The joke achieved $25 million in free publicity.
NASA used Taco Bell tortillas for Space Shuttle missions - bread had too many crumbs so they used tortillas instead, and NASA started making space tortillas. Taco Bell made a tortilla in the 90s with a nine month shelf life, so NASA started using those instead.
In March 2012, Taco Bell teamed up with Frito Lay and created the Doritos Locos Tacos, which is a taco with a Dorito Nacho Cheese flavored taco shell. The success of the Doritos Locos Taco allowed Taco Bell to hire 15,000 new employees.
When Taco Bell attempted to enter Mexico the locals decried the food as inauthentic. When they returned in 2007, Taco Bell promoted itself as selling "authentic American food", but it closed in January 2010 due to lack of interest.
Taco Bell failed to pay the two Michigan men who pitched the idea of the Taco Bell Chihuahua mascot, and later were court-ordered to pay back $42.1 million dollars.
As of 2018, Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion customers each year at 7,000 restaurants, more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees and licensees.
Taco Bell provides tortillas for NASA to use in lieu of bread, which cause problems due to crumbs getting caught in instruments. The Taco Bell tortillas are ideal due to their long shelf life.
In March 2012, Taco Bell teamed up with Frito Lay and created the Doritos Locos Tacos, which is a taco with a Dorito Nacho Cheese flavored taco shell. The success of the Doritos Locos Taco allowed Taco Bell to hire 15,000 new employees.
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| Taco Bell Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos Closeup | by theimpulsivebuy |
When Taco Bell attempted to enter Mexico the locals decried the food as inauthentic. When they returned in 2007, Taco Bell promoted itself as selling "authentic American food", but it closed in January 2010 due to lack of interest.
Taco Bell failed to pay the two Michigan men who pitched the idea of the Taco Bell Chihuahua mascot, and later were court-ordered to pay back $42.1 million dollars.
Taco Bell provides tortillas for NASA to use in lieu of bread, which cause problems due to crumbs getting caught in instruments. The Taco Bell tortillas are ideal due to their long shelf life.
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