Taco Bell Only Offered 5 Menu Items When It First Opened

Taco Bell is one of the most successful fast-food franchises in the world. With over 7,700 restaurants in 31 countries around the world, the Mexican-inspired chain has certainly staked out a spot in consumers' hearts, per Statista. And while many customers probably keep coming back for their menu staples like the Crunchwrap Supreme and Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Taco Bell is also quite adept at using limited-edition and secret menu items to its advantage. 

Fan-favorite nacho fries, for example, first hit stores nationwide in 2018, only to be discontinued and then bought back again in 2022, per WKYC. These menu mix-ups keep customers on their toes, enticing them back to the chain whenever this specialty item returns. Similarly, in May of 2022, the chain decided to bring back the Mexican pizza, a popular item that had previously appeared on the menu in 2020, according to CNN.

Suffice it to say, Taco Bell knows how to keep its menu interesting. However, if you were to walk into the original Taco Bell in Downey, California in 1962, you might not even recognize the menu. Not only were the restaurant's offerings somewhat different from the ones you might see today, but the menu was also much sparser. The world's first Taco Bell sold just five items total, according to Insider.

Taco Bell was founded in 1962 by Glen Bell, a successful entrepreneur who had previously run a number of other restaurants, including Bell's Hamburgers and Hot Dogs, and Taco Tia in San Bernardino, according to the Taco Bell Blog. Bell was inspired to create the Mexican-themed fast food chain after his initial success with utilizing an efficient assembly-line technique to serve tacos at his first taco stand. So less than 10 years after he opened Taco Tia, the world's first Taco Bell made its debut.

Bell's decision to sell tacos set him apart from rival fast-food competitors, such as McDonald's, who sold more traditional fast-food fare of burgers and fries, according to Britannica. In contrast, Taco Bell's original menu offered just four Mexican-inspired food items (tacos, burritos, frijoles, and tostadas), as well as one standard American-food option, but with a twist, the chili burger, according to Insider. And with each item priced at just 19 cents (the equivalent of about $1.91 today, per CPI Inflation Calculator), the menu was also quite affordable.

However, Taco Bell's menu wouldn't stay small for long. Just two years after the first Downey, California location opened, the restaurant attracted its first franchisee, a retired Los Angeles policeman named Kermit Becky, according to Taco Bell. Becky opened the second-ever Taco Bell location not too far from the original, in Torrance, California. From there, the franchise took off, and after just three more years, Taco Bell celebrated the opening of its 100th restaurant in Anaheim. 

Although Taco Bell was largely a West Coast sensation for several years, Bell eventually decided to take the company public in 1970, launching a vision closer to the brand we know and love today. As the business grew, so did the menu. Throughout the '80s, Taco Bell focused on expanding its menu offerings, adding new favorites like the Taco Salad and Taco Bell Grande. In the '90s, Taco Bell launched its first-ever value menu, charging just 49 cents for a taco, 79 cents for a Supreme taco, and 99 cents for a Big Beef taco, according to Insider. 

In the decades since, the company has shown no signs of slowing down its menu innovation. While Taco Bell's menu might have started out small, it was certainly a mighty one, launching the restaurant from a single California location into the major multinational fast-food chain it is today.