DOWNEY, Calif., Nov. 18 (UPI) — Taco Bell announced the fast food eatery’s original building has been saved from the wrecking ball and will be moved to the company’s headquarters.
The Downey, Calif., building nicknamed “Taco Bell Numero Uno” was the site of Glenn Bell’s first Taco Bell restaurant in 1962 and later went on to host a succession of small eateries after Taco Bell moved out in 1986.
The building caught the attention of preservation groups and Taco Bell corporate after the current owners announced they were considering demolition.
We Are The Next, a building preservation group that was alerted to the building’s plight by the current owners of the property, helped facilitate Taco Bell’s re-acquisition of the structure.
“This building isn’t designed by a famous architect, and it’s not particularly beautiful in the conventional sense. But it does demonstrate how even the most ordinary buildings can tell tremendous stories,” Katie Rispoli, the preservation group’s executive director, told the Orange County Register.
Taco Bell publicized the plight using the “#savetacobell” hashtag on social media and it soon found enough funds to purchase the building and have it transported the approximately 45 miles to Taco Bell’s headquarters in Irvine.
“This is arguably the most important restaurant in our company’s history,” Taco Bell chief executive Brian Niccol said. “When we heard about the chance of it being demolished, we had to step in. We owe that to our fans; we owe that to Glen Bell.”
The building’s run for the Irvine border, which is already being live-streamed, is scheduled to begin around 10 p.m. PST Friday.
The company said it hasn’t decided on a new use for the old building, but fans on social media will be involved in the decision process.
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