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Taco Bell’s Seven Layers of Mystery

curiousKC Goes in Search of the Chain's First Enclosed Restaurant

The Taco Bell restaurant on Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City.
The Taco Bell restaurant near Main Street and Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City. (Emily Woodring | Flatland)
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As we scrolled through the latest curiousKC questions, this true-or-false query piqued our interest for its national acclaim and—possibly—local ties. 

“Is it true that the first enclosed Taco Bell was located at Linwood & Main in Kansas City?” We reached out the person who asked, wondering where they received this information, to no avail. 

What we do know is that Taco Bell began in Downey, California, in 1962 by an eager fast food entrepreneur, Glen Bell. The early locations began with walk-up counters and outdoor seating only. Was the Taco Bell at Linwood Boulevard and Main Street in Kansas City the first to have indoor seating and a drive thru? We reached out to Taco Bell’s headquarters to find out.

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