Taco Bell’s Bringing Booze to Chicago Location

15 Sep, 2015

Taco Bell is ready to pour you a drink.

The official grand opening of the first booze-selling Taco Bell isn’t until Sept. 22, but company officials opened their doors — and liquor cabinet — to customers on Tuesday for a “soft opening” of the fast-food chain’s new location in the city’s Wicker Park neighborhood.

Taco Bell, which has earned a reputation over the years as a good place to get a bite after a night of drinking, announced plans in June to experiment with selling beer, wine, sangria and spiked frozen drinks at the new Chicago location as it looks to gain a foothold in urban markets. A second location that will sell only beer and wine near San Francisco’s AT&T Park is slated to open later this month, the company says.

But the company knows that its Millennial customers increasingly are attracted to urban areas, where real estate is pricey. Company officials think that selling a stiffer drink might pad the receipts — the typical Taco Bell receipt is in the $7 range — and in turn help make their urbanization push more doable.

“To put in a drive-thru you need land,” Neil Borkan, the Taco Bell franchisee who will operate the Chicago test location told USA TODAY. “Can you imagine buying an acre of land in a neighborhood like Wicker Park? You couldn’t afford it. As real estate becomes more and more expensive, this kind of concept makes more sense.”

The new Chicago restaurant is set in a 100-year-old building and features an open kitchen that gives customers a view of nearly every corner. The company also commissioned a Chicago graffiti artist who goes by the name Revise CMW to paint a giant installation along one of the walls.

The artist, whose real name is Won Kim, said he initially was apprehensive about doing work for the giant fast-food chain, but was pleasantly surprised when they told him they didn’t want his piece to include any overt reference to their brand.

“At first, I was a little resistant to agreeing to work for this big corporation, but I knew if I didn’t do it, they’d find some 21-year-old to take the job,” said Kim, 35, who also is a chef. “At the end of the month, I got to pay the rent, too.”

USA Today 

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