Taco Bell is the latest fast-food chain to enter the delivery market with the announcement of its partnership with Palo Alto-based delivery service Door Dash.
The new delivery service will be available in Taco Bell locations in over 90 cities and more than 200 restaurants in California and Texas. Some of them include Los Angeles, Orange County, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Dallas. Delivery costs $3.99, is typically only available from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and will take around 38 minutes total. Customers can order their food through the Door Dash Website and its iOS and Android platforms. "Delivery is yet another example of how we're using technology and innovation to respond to consumers' wants and needs, further evolving the Taco Bell experience for customers," said
Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol in a press release. Niccol announced the company's plans to test the service earlier this year, but it's officially launching today. Users on Twitter were ecstatic over the announcement, some even urging Taco Bell to bring the service to their city.
Taco Bell was founded by Glenn Bell, who first opened a hot dog stand called Bell's Drive-In in California in 1946 when he was 23 years old. In 1950, he opened Bell's Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in San Bernardino's West Side barrio.
According to Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, Bell watched long lines of customers at a Mexican restaurant called the Mitla Cafe, located across the street, which attracted a dedicated customer base for its hard-shelled tacos. Bell began eating there regularly, attempting to reverse-engineer the recipe, and eventually won the confidence of the proprietors such that they allowed him to see how the tacos and other foods were prepared. In late 1951 or early 1952, he took what he had learned and opened a new stand, this time selling tacos under the name of Taco-Tia.
