A not-so-funny thing happened on Taco Bell’s way to conquer the urban market: the pandemic.
It hit just weeks after the chain revealed plans to take its urban-focused and experimental Cantina concept into more markets, with more experiential benefits and still without that drive-thru. And then the pandemic kept people home and made that drive-thru all the more important.
Taco Bell, being Taco Bell, quickly shifted direction, and this week revealed elements of its latest Cantina concept that has a drive-thru.
The drive-thru Cantina concept is part of a continued evolution at the Irvine, Calif.-based chain—an evolution moving rapidly toward more convenience even as it continues nudging itself toward the experiential fast-food restaurant it had visions for just 13 months ago.
“Our restaurant portfolio continues to rapidly evolve, striking a crucial balance between technology-forward and social oriented,” Mike Grams, Taco Bell’s global chief operating officer, said in a statement.
The drive-thru cantina
In 2015, Taco Bell introduced its Cantinas, an urban-focused location without drive-thrus aimed at hip urban consumers. The locations were experiential. Some had alcohol. At least one has a wedding chapel. The company also plotted versions with video game lounges.
The pandemic obviously influenced the way consumers dine at restaurants, and urban locations became a problem.
Taco Bell franchisee Diversified Restaurant Group opened a drive-thru Cantina in Danville, Calif., complete with an outdoor fire pit and a game area. And yes, a bar.
“The partnership with Taco Bell is unique,” SG Ellison, president of Diversified, said in a statement. “The brand empowers us franchisees with both autonomy and support, which has allowed my business to not just build traditional restaurants, but create destinations.” Diversified is the company that opened the Las Vegas Cantina with the aforementioned wedding chapel and one in Pacifica.
The Go Mobile prototype
While Taco Bell continues to build these destination restaurants, it will be the more takeout-focused Go Mobile restaurants that will be more common.
One such restaurant will be in Manhattan, where the chain is planning an all-digital, small-footprint restaurant featuring self-order kiosks.
Taco Bell is also planning to expand the use of its drive-thru concierge service with workers known as “bellhops” with tablet ordering and curbside pickup. The company said that it expects up to 1,000 bellhops to be working at its U.S. restaurants this summer.
The company is also expanding the Go Mobile prototype it tested last year that features more drive-thru lanes and “minimalistic physical spaces.”
The most unique of these options will be constructed in suburban Minneapolis, where franchisee Border Foods is planning a Taco Bell with two stories and four drive-thru lanes. “As great as the drive-thru is, a fundamental flaw is the bottleneck at the windows,” Lee Engler, CEO at Border Foods, said in a statement. “Our team has set out to creatively solve that like no one else has done before.”
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