New Chicago Taco Bell Could Be Company’s First To Sell Alcohol

Want an ice-cold beer to wash down that Doritos Locos Taco? If city permits and licenses are to be believed, a new Taco Bell in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood may be the first to let you live that dream.

Eater reports that management for the establishment – which is expected to open sometime this summer – applied for a liquor license.

Of course, that doesn’t guarantee that the restaurant will serve alcohol, but it’s a pretty strong indicator that the location could be the company’s first ever to sell adult beverages.

A spokesman for the fast food company wouldn’t offer additional details about the location other than to say it would be a “completely new urban restaurant design.”

This isn’t the first time that Yum! Brands – the owner of Taco Bell and several other fast food brands – has dipped its toes in the taco/booze pool.

Last spring, the company announced plans to open a new upscale eatery called U.S. Taco Co. that served “American-inspired” tacos and other American dishes, as well as boozy milkshakes.

While the U.S. Taco Co. location eventually opened in California, the company postponed plans to serve alcohol after it was unable to obtain a liquor license, Business Insider reports.

If the new Wicker Park Taco Bell does indeed go the route of margaritas, Mexican beer and other alcoholic drinks, it could prove to be a competitor for another Mexican-inspired chain restaurant serving alcohol: Chipotle.

Taco Bell Wicker Park Could Become First in World to Serve Booze [Eater]
Taco Bell wants to open a restaurant with alcohol [Business Insider]

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