Taco Bell looks to expand boozy Cantina concept

wicker park taco bell

Taco Bell plans to open the third outpost of its Cantina concept, expanding the arm of its business aimed to boost interest among its target customers (read: millennials) living in urban areas.

The Austin, Texas, opening, reported by local news station KXAN, will replicate features of Taco Bell’s two other Cantina units—located in Chicago and San Francisco—including free Wi-Fi and the sale of beer, wine and mixed alcoholic drinks.

Despite concern from local residents about the restaurant’s aim to serve alcohol so close to the University of Texas campus, a Taco Bell spokesperson told the news outlet that it would take steps to ensure those sales are conducted responsibly.

Taco Bell has recently looked to pedestrian-friendly units such as its Cantina locations to increase its city presence.

“We’re underpenetrated in urban markets,” Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol told Bloomberg last year. “It’s where you have that density, and frankly where people aren’t in cars.”

In order to focus on its Cantina strategy, the brand last year shuttered its upscale experiment, U.S. Taco Co.

Read the full story via KXAN

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Despite their complaints, customers keep flocking to Chipotle

The Bottom Line: The chain continued to be a juggernaut last quarter, with strong sales and traffic growth, despite frequent social media complaints about shrinkflation or other challenges.

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Trending

More from our partners