The Taco Bell chain of Mexican fast food is expecting to open its first store in Athens this summer.
“At Taco Bell, we are globally known for bold tastes and unique experiences of enjoyment we provide at our restaurants,” said Taco Bell UK & Europe Chief Marketing Officer Chet Patel. “We are enthusiastic to bring Taco Bell to Greece and eagerly await connecting with Greek fans of street food,” he added.
Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., which includes KFC and Pizza Hut. Currently, there are over 1,000 franchises of the Mexican fast food chain in 31 countries besides the United States.
In Greece, it will be overseen by Food Plus, founded in 1989 as a Yum! Brands franchise to develop the Pizza Hut and KFC brands. It now operates and manages a network of 21 franchises in Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras.
Taco Bell expands globally and reaches Athens
Taco Bell is a fast-food restaurant chain known for its bold, Americanized take on Mexican cuisine. It serves a variety of menu items like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and specialty creations such as the Crunchwrap Supreme and Doritos Locos Tacos. The brand is famous for its creative, often over-the-top menu innovations and its edgy, youthful marketing.
Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell in 1962 in Downey, California. When the Second World War ended, Bell left the United States Marine Corps and returned to his home in San Bernardino, where in 1946 he began working at a hot dog stand. This was how he learned the business, at Bell’s Drive-in.
In 1952 he began to perfect his business, by adding alternative products to his menu, specifically tacos, with which he experimented until finding the perfect ingredients and proportions. He then decided to expand his business. First he rented a stand in the town of Barstow, and between 1954 and 1955, he built three Taco Tia stands in San Bernardino, Redlands and Riverside.
It was 1962 when Glen Bell took the business in a new direction, building the first Taco Bell in Downey. Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police officer, purchased the first Taco Bell franchise in 1964. It was a new era for Glen Bell: “Once we reached 100 restaurants, things changed for me”.
In 1978 Glen sold the 868 Taco Bell restaurants to PepsiCo Inc. Today, Taco Bell has over 6,000 establishments in the USA and over 500 around the world, undergoing a phase of great expansion and entering new markets.
In 1991, Taco Bell established its vision of offering Taco Bell “at any time and place people are hungry”, starting its Express commercial activity. Thus, compact posts, kiosks and restaurants of the Taco Bell brand began to appear in airports, petrol stations, retail stores, cinemas, stadiums and schools, etc.)