Taco Bell Corp. (Taco Bell) is a restaurant chain based in Irvine, California. It is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., and specializes in Mexican-style quick service and food.

According to company sources, Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, signature Quesadillas, Grilled Stuft Burritos, nachos, and other specialty items such as the Crunchwrap Supreme, in addition to a wide variety of Big Bell Value Menu items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion consumers each year in more than 5,800 restaurants in the U.S. More than 80 percent of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. There are currently more than 278 restaurants operating in Canada, Guam, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Asia, Europe.

Founding and growth

Glen Bell was 23 when he left the Marine Corps in 1946. He was an avid Mexican food take-out customer, and was aware of the hang-ups in ordering tacos to go from a full-service restaurant. He basically wanted to change the method of preparation. He began by selling various hot dogs, including a chili dog in a Mexican neighborhood. At the same time, he researched tacos. Glen Bell sold the El Tacos to his partners and built the first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962. Kermit Becky, a former L.A. policeman, bought the first Taco Bell franchise in 1964. His luck was to inspire many future sales. The restaurant, located in what appeared to be an inconspicuous industrial location at the intersection of Carson and Western in the South Bay area, did tremendous volumes from the beginning. Prospective owners clamored for restaurants when they learned from Becky himself that it was not uncommon for him to clear $10,000 in one month. It was clearly a new era for Glen Bell. No longer was it a case of providing the energy, determination and belief in an idea until it took off. Now, it was a matter of running a large company.

In 1978, the chain was sold to PepsiCo. It was spun off along with Pepsi's other fast food restaurant holdings as Tricon Global Restaurants in October 1997. Tricon became Yum! Brands in May 2002. Facts: date=February 2009

Taco Bell has the largest sales per system unit in Yum!, having US$1.17 million sales per system unit, excluding licensees.

Controversies

In November 2006, Taco Bell made local headlines when 22 customers were sickened by the E. coli bacteria. The bacteria was traced to three New Jersey restaurants. While some people were hospitalized, none were severely harmed.

In February 2007, Taco Bell again made headlines in the New York metropolitan area when a Taco Bell/KFC restaurant in Manhattan was overrun by rats; footage of the rodents scurrying about were shown on local news. The location was closed by order of the Department of Health until the issues were resolved. The outbreak prompted the closure of several additional Taco Bell restaurants throughout the Northeastern United States.