64 Years Ago, This Popular Mexican Chain Opened For The First Time

Picture this scenario: the year is 1962, and you're driving through the town of Downey, California, when you find yourself feeling hungry. As you cruise the streets of Downey, looking for something to eat decades before online restaurant reviews could help you, a new spot catches your eye. You've never heard of this place, and it turns out that's because it just opened. You're curious, though, which is how you find yourself having lunch at the world's first Taco Bell. As strange as imagining a world without Taco Bell might be today, 64 years ago, founder Glen Bell opened the very first Taco Bell restaurant.

While the 1962 opening marked the start of Taco Bell as we know it, the venue wasn't Glen Bell's first venture into Mexican restaurants. Back in 1954, Bell opened Taco Tia, a casual Mexican restaurant near San Bernardino, California. In the mid-20th century, even in Southern California, tacos were relatively hard to come by, but Bell had grown to love them at San Bernardino's Mitla Cafe. After basing his own taco recipe on what he'd stealthily learned about Mitla Cafe's signature fried-shell tacos dorados, Bell likely believed that the more people tried tacos, the more they'd enjoy them. In fact, when he first founded the original Taco Bell in 1962, many of his customers couldn't pronounce "taco," and would order "tay-cos." No matter the pronunciation, people knew they were delicious.

As the original Taco Bell proved successful, the possibility of expansion came up quickly. Taco Bell's first franchise opened in 1964, only two years after the first restaurant opened. By 1967, there were over 100 Taco Bell locations, and that was only the beginning. As the first major American fast-food franchise to offer tacos, the rise of Taco Bell's popularity may have been in part due to its unique menu. Other hits included Taco Bell's affordable prices (with a taco costing less than a quarter in the 1960s), the chain's fun experiments with snack food collaborations, and its reputation for satisfying late-night snack cravings — Taco Bell itself encouraged in the "Fourth Meal" ad campaign.

Today, Taco Bell can be found around the world, with locations across America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. As Taco Bell expanded into an international market, some menu items have been added or altered to suit local tastes. At international Taco Bell locations, you can find tzatziki-laced Chalupas in Cyprus, shrimp and avocado burritos in Japan, and even kimchi quesadillas in Korea. In Spain, Taco Bell even has something no longer offered in the United States: a kids' menu. Many international Taco Bells also offer beer to wash down your tacos, unlike the U.S. locations, which, except for Taco Bell Cantinas, are alcohol-free.