Taco Bell debuts new restaurant concepts in Orange County

CALIFORNIA - Taco Bell Corp. is seeking to break out of the fast-food mold and appeal to a new generation of customers as it unveils four new design concepts in its home ground of Orange County.

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The Irvine, California company, which first announced plans for the new designs in May, says the revamped restaurants are part of a planned broader rollout that will become a key component to the overall growth and evolution of Taco Bell.

Taco Bell said the newly designed restaurants — in Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Tustin and Brea — feature characteristics unique to Southern California, such as outdoor patio seating lit by fireplaces, community dining tables made from reclaimed wood and bright, open kitchens.

Taco Bell said its store in Newport Beach at 4101 Jamboree Road features a “California Sol” concept inspired by the restaurant’s California roots and the California lifestyle, with a modern design that “blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor.”

The “Heritage” style restaurant in Tustin at 14042 Red Hill Ave., is inspired by Taco Bell’s culinary roots in Mexican-inspired food and features a Spanish Colonial Mexican design.

Santa Ana’s “Modern Explorer” restaurant concept features a rustic, modern style and is a refined version of Taco Bell’s Cantina Explorer restaurants, the company said.

The Brea restaurant at 303 W. Imperial Highway has an “Urban Edge” concept representing “international high street style done the Taco Bell way.”

The restaurant chain said it will launch additional redesigns as it’s on track to add 2,000 stores by 2022.

Taco Bell is also bringing a new Cantina flagship restaurant to the heart of the Las Vegas strip this fall. The 24-hour location will feature al fresco dining and serve alcohol, including beer, wine, sangria and a liquor-infused drink called Twisted Freezes.

A Taco Bell spokesman told the Orange County Register the company currently doesn’t currently have plans to open a Cantina restaurant locally, but is looking into opening one in Atlanta, as well as New York; Boston; Ohio; Berkeley; Austin, Texas; and Fayetteville, Ark. The company opened the first Cantina in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood last year, followed by one in San Francisco.

Source I-Chun Chen, Bizjournal