In 1952, in the Southern California town of San Bernadino, the McDonald’s brothers (Maurice and Dice) opened their first drive-in restaurant. In the same town, in the same year, 23-year-old Glen Bell began to work on a new vision for Mexican food. There were Taco stands all over Southern California at the time, but the tacos were filled and fried to order. “They were delicious,” recalls Glen Bell, “but if you wanted a dozen, you were in for a wait.” Bell started experimenting with pre-fried taco shells to speed the process.
He had seen a crude version of a deep fry basket for tortillas made from stainless steel. "My plan for experimenting with tacos," he says, "was to obtain a location in a Mexican neighborhood. That way, if tacos were successful, potential competitors would write it off to the location and assume that the idea wouldn't sell anywhere else." I'll never forget the first taco customer because naturally, I was really concerned about his reaction. He was dressed in a suit, and as he bit into the taco the juice ran down his sleeve and dripped on his tie. I thought, 'we've lost this one,' but he came back, amazingly enough, and said, 'That was good, I'll take another one!” The tacos sold well and Bell began the construction of three Taco Tia stands in Southern CA. The new stores achieved $18,000 in sales in the first month.
Glen Bell then opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 with 40 shares of stock, each worth $100, owned exclusively by his family. In 1978, he sold Taco Bell’s 868 drive-in restaurants for $125 milion in stock. By 1996, there were 6,500 Taco Bells. In 1998 Taco Bell introduced a distinctly different product into mainstream America, the gordita. A gordita (little fat one) is tortilla dough that has been patted into a circle, dropped into hot oil, where it puffs up. Then, it is split open to form a pocket which is filled with meat, cheese, etc.
In 1999 Chalupas were added to The Bell's zesty menu. A chalupa (canoe) is made by pressing tortilla dough into an elongated boat shape before frying.
Extra Credit (8 points)
Go to The Bell and eat a gordita or chalupa (must say gordita or chalupa on receipt—one receipt per person). As you eat your food, think of Glen Bell, the kid with a dream, and how you can change the world.
The Taco Bell chihuahua (born c. 1995) was a popular advertising figure and mascot used by Taco Bell. In commercials, the dog (sometimes depicted as a Mexican revolutionary wearing a beret or as a bandit wearing a sombrero) was made to speak through special effects. His advertising catch-phrase was "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" The figure grew popular, so much so that toy figures of the dog were produced, and "Yo quiero (X)" became a recognized piece of pop culture. The dog also started two other catch phrases, "Drop the chalupa!" which briefly became an oft-quoted phrase on SportsCenter, and "Viva Gorditas!," meaning "Long live Gorditas!" The Taco Bell Chihuahua is often cited as one of the causes of a recent upsurge in popularity of the breed. Despite being wildly popular, some Latin Americans accused the dog of being a thinly veiled ethnic stereotype. Taco Bell, denied this but nonetheless stopped showing the dog in advertisements in 2000.
