The first-ever Taco Bell location obviously holds a special place in the chain's heart, as it was the one who paved the way for one of the biggest fast food joints in the world, and possibly the market's top Tex-Mex chain - so execs will be doing just about anything to save it.
Now, the first Taco Bell location, which the chain lovingly refers to as "Numero Uno," is facing demolition over five decades after it first opened, and the fast food giant's so attached to its mother ship that they intend to save it in a most unconventional way - by lifting it up and placing it somewhere else.
According to Popular Mechanics, the first Taco Bell location, which opened in 1962, was a teensy "walk-up taco shack" in Downey, California, and it stayed open for the first two decades of the company's history, until finally closing down in 1986, then hosting a variety of other taquerias inside - now, the new owners are planning on redeveloping the site so Taco Bell HQ has chosen to just lifting it up and driving it 45 miles to a new place.
Los Angeles Times reports that the old Taco Bell location will now be moving to Irvine, California, and fans of the chain will be able to see the entire five-hour trip online, as the now moving restaurant passes goes from Downey to Irvine, passing through Norwalk, Cerritos, La Palma, Buena Park, Anaheim, Tustin and Orange in the process.
"This is arguably the most important restaurant in our company's history," said the company's CEO, Brian Nicol, in a statement to the press, via Denver Post, about the Taco Bell location's move. "We had to step in. We owe that to our fans, we owe that to Glen Bell," he added, speaking about the chain's founder, who passed away on 2010.
The Taco Bell location's move will begin this Thursday at 10 pm, and you can follow the stream here!
