Taco Bell

File:Taco Bell logo.svg
Company type	Wholly owned subsidiary
Industry	Fast Food
Founded	March 21, 1962 ( Downey, California)
Headquarters	Irvine, California, United States
Key people	Glen Bell (founder) Greg Creed (president/CEO)
Products	Tacos, burritos, and other Tex-Mex cuisine-related fast food
Revenue	$1.8 billion USD (2005)
Number of employees	175,000+
Parent	Yum! Brands
Website	tacobell.com

Taco Bell is an American restaurant chain based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., it specializes in Mexican-style food and quick service.

Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, mexi-melts, other specialty items and a wide variety of "Value Menu" items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion consumers each year in more than 5,800 restaurants in the U.S., of which more than 80 percent are owned and operated by independent franchisees.

Glen Bell, a former Marine, began the chain with his first restaurant in San Bernardino, California. He named it Bell's Drive-in. Glen Bell was 23 when he left the Marine Corps in 1946. He was an avid Mexican food take-out customer. Aware of the hang-ups in ordering tacos to go from a full-service restaurant, he wanted to change the method of preparation. He began by selling various hot dogs, including a chili dog in a Mexican neighborhood. At the same time, he researched tacos. Glen Bell sold the El Tacos to his partners and built the first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962. Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police officer, bought the first Taco Bell franchise in 1964. Dane Stephenson established the first Taco Bell in New Jersey in 1964. Bell passed away on January 17, 2010 at 86 years old.

In 1991, Taco Bell opened the first Taco Bell Express in San Francisco, California. This concept is a reduced-size restaurant with a limited menu (primarily items priced under $1), meant to emphasize volume. ^[1] Taco Bell Express locations operate primarily inside convenience stores, truck stops, malls, and airports.

In November 2006, Taco Bell made local headlines when 22 customers were sickened by the E. coli bacteria. The bacteria was traced to three New Jersey restaurants. While some people were hospitalized, none were severely harmed. ^[2]

In February 2007, Taco Bell again made headlines when a Taco Bell/ KFC restaurant in Manhattan was overrun by rats; footage of the rodents scurrying about were shown on news shows around the globe. The location was closed by order of the Department of Health until the issues were resolved. The outbreak prompted the closure of several additional Taco Bell restaurants throughout the Northeastern United States. ^[3]

still AMAZING

A lawsuit filed in 1998 by Joseph Shields and Thomas Rinks alleged Taco Bell failed to pay them for use of the Chihuahua character they created. The men alleged that Taco Bell had breached payment on a contract after they worked with the restaurant chain for a year to develop the talking Chihuahua for use in marketing. The Chihuahua became a hit: In a commercial, the character bypasses a female Chihuahua for a Taco Bell taco and declares: "Yo quiero Taco Bell." The two men received $30.1 million in compensation ^[4] plus nearly $12 million in additional interest three months later. ^[5] Taco Bell in turn sued its ad agency TBWA saying it should have been aware of the conflicts. In 2009, a three-judge federal appeals panel ruled against Taco Bell. ^[6]

The rap artist 50 Cent filed a federal lawsuit against Taco Bell on July 23, 2008. The suit claimed that his name was used in a print ad asking him to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent as a part of the "Why Pay More?" campaign. 50 Cent was not aware of the ad until it came out, while fake letters containing the name change request were sent to the news media for promotional purposes. He sought $4 million in damages. In turn, Taco Bell spokesman Rob Poetsch said they made a good faith, charitable offer of $10,000 to 50 Cent if he would change his name to 79, 89 or 99 Cent for one day and rap his order at a Taco Bell location. ^[7] On November 24, 2009 50 Cent and Yum! Brands/Taco Bell settled the suit for an undisclosed amount. ^[8]

In 1997, PepsiCo experimented with a new "fresh grill" concept, opening at least one Border Bell restaurant in Mountain View, California on El Camino Real ( SR 82). ^[9] In addition to a subset of the regular Taco Bell menu, Border Bell offered Mexican-inspired items like those available from Chevys Fresh Mex restaurants (then owned by PepsiCo), such as Chevys signature sweet corn tamalito pudding and a fresh salsa bar.

As of April, 2007, Taco Bell had switched to zero trans fat frying oil in all of its US single-branded locations. ^[10]

Taco Bell revealed in June 2009 that it will be adding to its main menu the Volcano Double Beef Burrito and the Volcano Taco, a former limited-time item. ^[11]

It was reported in October 2009 that the chain has been testing smoothies, mini-snacks, and other items. A juice bar has been installed in some restaurants along with a display containing cupcakes and other snacks. ^[12]

In March 2001, Taco Bell announced a promotion to coincide with the re-entry of the Mir space station. They towed a large target out into the Pacific Ocean, announcing that if the target was hit by a falling piece of Mir, every person in the United States would be entitled to a free Taco Bell taco. The company bought a sizable insurance policy for this gamble. ^[13] No piece of the station struck the target.

In 2004, a local Taco Bell franchisee bought the naming rights to the Boise State Pavilion in Boise, Idaho and renamed the stadium Taco Bell Arena. ^[14]

In 2006, Taco Bell was a ESPN partner of its coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In 2007, Taco Bell offered the "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion—if any player from either team stole a base in the 2007 World Series the company would give away free tacos to everyone in the United States in a campaign similar to the Mir promotion, albeit with a much higher likelihood of being realized. ^[15] After Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox stole a base in Game 2, the company paid out this promotion on October 30, 2007. This promotion was used again in the 2008 World Series, when Jason Bartlett of the Tampa Bay Rays stole a base during Game 1 at Tropicana Field, which was paid out on October 28, 2008. ^[16]

Taco Bell sponsors a promotion at home games for both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers in which everyone in attendance receives a coupon for a free Chalupa if the home team scores 100 points or more. ^{[17] [18]}

In 2009, Taco Bell introduced a music video style commercial entitled, "It's all about the Roosevelts" composed and produced by Danny de Matos at his studio www.shushstudio.com for Amber Music on behalf of DraftFCB Agency. Featuring Varsity Fanclub's Bobby Edner, the rap music style commercial shows a group of friends gathering change as they drive toward Taco Bell. ^[19] The commercial represents Taco Bell's first foray into movie theater advertising, featuring the ad during the opening previews of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Public Enemies as well as screens in some movie theater lobbies. ^[20]

On July 1, 2009, Taco Bell has replaced 20-year sponsor McDonald's as the fast food partner of the NBA. Taco Bell and the NBA agreed on a 4 year deal allowing them to advertise on ABC, TNT and ESPN, and NBA-themed promotions. ^[21]

Infomercial salesman Billy Mays signed a deal in June 2009 to shoot infomercial-style commercials for the chain, with filming to begin in August. ^[22] His unexpected death from a heart attack on June 28, 2009 canceled those plans.

On July 21, 2009, Gidget, the Chihuahua featured in Taco Bell ads in the late 1990s, was euthanized after suffering a stroke. ^[23] She was 15 years old.

2009 commercials for the "Frutista Freeze" frozen drink feature Snowball, an Eleonora Cockatoo noted for his ability to dance to human music. ^[24]

Taco Bell first opened in Australia in September 1981, but was ordered to change its name after the owner of a local restaurant successfully sued them for misleading conduct. ^[25] The local restaurant was called 'Taco Bell's Casa' and had been operating in Australia since the 1970s. The owner successfully argued that Sydneysiders would confuse the takeaway chain with his restaurant, and this would damage his reputation. Taco Bell later opened in 1997 in Australia with a store in the cinema district on George St in Sydney and later in 2002 within a few KFC stores in the state of New South Wales but by 2005, the Taco Bell brand was pulled out of the country.

A Taco Bell opened in Cyprus in December 2009 in Limassol at the MyMall. Further restaurants are planned to be opened within the next 18 months (probably also in Cyprus' capital Nicosia). ^[26]

In 2003, Yum! Brands introduced the Taco Bell brand into People's Republic of China. The Chinese Taco Bell restaurants were not fast-food restaurants like other Taco Bells. Instead, they were full-service restaurants called Taco Bell Grande that are more analogous to a Mexican grill in the United States. In addition to the usual taco and burritos, Taco Bell Grande also served other Mexican cuisine like albóndigas (meatball soup), tomatillo grilled chicken, fajitas, and alcoholic drinks such as Margaritas. The chain had operated three restaurants in China, two in Shenzhen and one in Shanghai. However, the Shanghai location closed at the end of January 2008. ^[27] One location in Shenzhen closed on February 20, 2008; the second location followed shortly after, closing on March 5, 2008. ^[28]

Taco Bell in Iceland is operated as a part of the KFC establishment in Hafnarfjörður, suburb of Reykjavík. It was established in late 2006, after the departure of the U.S. Navy from Naval Air Station Keflavik. A second location opened in the Ártúnshöfði part of Reykjavik in November 2008 ^[29]

After a failed attempt to enter the market in 1992 that finished with all the restaurants closing two years later, in September 2007 Taco Bell returned to that country. The first restaurant in the northern city of Monterrey is part of a plan to open between 8 and 10 more locations in 2008 and eventually reach 300 stores. ^{[30] [31]}

Taco Bell opened its first Philippine branch on October 30, 2004 at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City. They now have one on the Ground Floor and one on the 4th floor in the food court at the Gateway Mall. They have also added another branch at the TriNoma mall in Quezon City. ^[32]

Taco Bell in Singapore existed for a number of years, mostly as combination stores with KFC such as the one that operated at the Funan Digital Life Mall, but in 2008 they completely pulled out of Singapore. ^[33]

The first Taco Bell in Spain was opened at Naval Station Rota in 2004 and is available only to those authorized to access the naval base. ^[34] The first Taco Bell for the general public was opened in the Islazul Shopping Mall, Madrid, in December 2008. ^[35] Yum! Brands announced that it would open additional restaurants in Spain in early 2009 as part of a test trial for the European market. ^{[36] [37]}

A Taco Bell opened in the United Arab Emirates in November 2008 in Dubai at the Dubai Mall. ^[38]

The United Kingdom was the first European country with a Taco Bell. In 1986 a location was opened in London on Coventry Street (between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus) followed by a second location in Earls Court near the Earl's Court tube station. One other store opened in Uxbridge but all closed in the mid 1990s. In 1994 the university food provider Compass announced plans to open stores in its university and college sites. However only one store was opened in Birmingham University, no other stores were opened and the Birmingham site is now closed. ^{[39] [40]}

Yum! Brands has announced that it is considering reopening Taco Bell locations in the United Kingdom as part of a large planned expansion into Europe, with trial outlets opening first in Spain in early 2009. Yum! is taking advantage of the recent recession which has led to increasing sales at other fast food outlets, it also says that there is now a greater awareness of Mexican food in the UK and that it can be successful with improved menu offerings and marketing. ^{[36] [37]}.

The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Canada are the only countries where Taco Bell offers french fries. Having this product in 2 varieties: Fiesta Fries (Like Nachos Supreme, changing nachos for fries) and regular french fries.

• Priszm
• Taco Bell chihuahua
• Enchirito

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taco Bell.

• Official site.
• Canadian website.
• Philippines website.
• Taco Bell Wiki: A Taco Bell Wiki
• Taco-Bell Sued By Sick Boy With E-Coli - FORBES
• Information from FDA