Taco Bell—now and then

Fifty years ago today in Downey, Glen Bell opened the first Taco Bell restaurant. By the time he sold the chain to PepsiCo in 1978, there were 868 restaurants.

Bell was considered one of the pioneers of fast food restaurants. But instead of offering the typical hamburgers, fries, and milk shakes, he had a hunch that Mexican food would be a hit. The problem was the soft shell, which took too long to prepare. Bell figured out how to create preformed fried shells.

Today, there is a Taco Bell located across the street, with a modern facade and a drive-through lane. The original building is home to Seafood and Tacos Raul, which was doing a very brisk business when I stopped by there tonight.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how this 50th anniversary was celebrated.