Taco Bell in Los Angeles, California - 990 N. Western Ave. | Taco Bell (2024)

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Where is the largest Taco Bell located? ›

9a Calle 00-50, Zona 14 Guatemala City, Guatemala This 6,415 square foot restaurant is the largest Taco Bell in the world. The historic building used to be a bank. Now, it's shelling out tacos.

1 Best: 5200 CA-1, Pacifica, California. Representative review: “Definitely the best Taco Bell in the West located on the beautiful Pacifica Coast! Best to try and catch the sunset to sit outside and enjoy your food with a gorgeous view!

He took what he had learned and opened a new stand in 1951. The name underwent several changes, from Taco-Tia through El Taco, before settling on Taco Bell. Glen Bell opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 at 7112 Firestone Boulevard in Downey, California.

In 1997, PepsiCo spun off its restaurant division into a separate company called Tricon Global Restaurants. Tricon became the parent company to KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell; PepsiCo's other restaurant brands were sold.

Turns out, Taco Bell received its name from the owner's name, Glen Bell. According to Taco Bell's website, Glen Bell originally created Bell's Drive-In and Taco Tia in San Bernardino, California, in 1954. It wasn't until 1962 when the name was changed to “Taco Bell” after Bell opened a restaurant in Downey, California.

That meant branding updates as well, including a change in the 1970s from the original chili burger to the Bell Burger. By the late 1970s, the dish had been renamed the Bell Beefer.

The original Taco Bell restaurant, which closed in 1986, is still intact after being saved from demolition and moved to the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California. (Good luck ordering a chili burger, though.)

Taco Bell takes pride in its ability to adapt its dishes to vegetarian tastes and maintains a page on its website called Veggie Cravings, currently featuring 18 items marked with a green diamond with the letter “V,” meaning vegetarian. Nacho Fries do not carry the symbol.

These design trends inspired Taco Bell to adopt bright purple and hot pink as their main colors. Not only did these colors portray youthful energy and excitement, but they would also stand out among the other restaurant signs as you drove down the highway looking for a place to eat. Image source.