--- title: Taco Bell Is Opening a Fast Casual Restaurant U.S. Taco Co. description: Taco Bell revealed its secret fast casual project that will take on Chipotle canonical: https://time.com/76808/taco-bell-fast-casual-restaurant-us-taco-co/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-24T23:32:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:48:42.416Z og:title: Taco Bell Is Opening a Fast Casual Restaurant U.S. Taco Co. og:description: Taco Bell revealed its secret fast casual project that will take on Chipotle og:url: https://time.com/76808/taco-bell-fast-casual-restaurant-us-taco-co/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d5794bbb3c3803f/69868c7c55a85917f9a80873/stallioncombo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: U.S. Taco Stallion Combo - Taco Bell og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Taco Bell Is Opening a Fast Casual Restaurant U.S. Taco Co. twitter:description: Taco Bell revealed its secret fast casual project that will take on Chipotle twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d5794bbb3c3803f/69868c7c55a85917f9a80873/stallioncombo.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Taco Bell for Foodies  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Apr 24, 2014 11:32 PM UTC  Taco Bell/Yum Brands  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Apr 24, 2014 11:32 PM UTC Taco Bell is [testing out a fast casual restaurant](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/24/taco-bell-yum-brands-us-taco-co-fast-casual-restaurants/8104373/) called U.S. Taco Co and Urban Tap Room. The clandestine concept—it was even hidden from Taco Bell employees—was developed over the course of the past year in Taco Bell’s Irvine, California headquarters, according to _USA Today_. The first U.S. Taco is scheduled to open this summer in Huntington Beach, California. And this won’t be your pot-smoking uncle’s Taco Bell: The tacos at Taco Co. will sell for as much as $7\. There will be 10 soft-shell, open-faced tacos initially available on the menu—one of which has lobster, another of which has brisket. Taco Bell hopes to take on fast casual restaurants like Chipotle and Panera and profit from a key demographic: Millennials who fancy themselves foodies with change to spare. “We realized that at Taco Bell we weren’t reaching all of those who want Mexican food,” says Jeff Jenkins, senior brand manager. “Everyone in the U.S. has become a foodie. The first thing young people do in a restaurant is take out their camera and take a picture of their food — and post it on Instagram.”  Taco Bell/Yum Brands If they were aiming for an Instagram-able look, the restaurant’s logo certainly makes a statement: it’s a bright pinks Day of the Dead sugar skill. Indeed, the company has gone to great pains to redefine its image with this project. The name Taco Bell won’t even appear in the restaurant. “This is an entirely separate brand,” says Jenkins. “You will not see Taco Bell.” \[[_USA Toda_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/24/taco-bell-yum-brands-us-taco-co-fast-casual-restaurants/8104373/)[_y_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/24/taco-bell-yum-brands-us-taco-co-fast-casual-restaurants/8104373/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/76808/taco-bell-fast-casual-restaurant-us-taco-co/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/76808/taco-bell-fast-casual-restaurant-us-taco-co/"},"headline":"Taco Bell for Foodies","datePublished":"2014-04-24T23:32:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:42.416Z","description":"Taco Bell revealed its secret fast casual project that will take on Chipotle with $7 tacos and a hip décor, starting this summer","url":"https://time.com/76808/taco-bell-fast-casual-restaurant-us-taco-co/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Food & Drink","Food","Taco Bell","Chipotle","Tacos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d5794bbb3c3803f/69868c7c55a85917f9a80873/stallioncombo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4d5794bbb3c3803f/69868c7c55a85917f9a80873/stallioncombo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Taco Stallion Combo - Taco Bell","caption":"","creditText":"Taco Bell/Yum Brands","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/76808/taco-bell-fast-casual-restaurant-us-taco-co/","name":"Taco Bell for Foodies"}}]}] ```