Taco Bell Is Ditching Drive-Thrus And Adding Booze At New 'Cantina' Restaurants

Taco Bell is expanding its Tex-Mex empire with new drive-thru-less restaurants. Food & Wine reports that on top of the chain's 6,000 current locations in the United States, 300 to 350 new "cantina" restaurants are expected to pop up in big cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and New York by 2022. The taco chain plans to open at least 50 locations in Manhattan alone, where there are currently only six.

In addition to urbanizing new stores with artwork, open kitchens, and digital menu boards, the cantina-style restaurants will also have booze. Beer, wine, sangria, and "Twisted Freezes" — tequila, rum, or vodka slushies — will exist in perfect harmony with a Doritos Locos Taco or Crunchwrap Supreme.
 

"One of the cool things happening in America right now is the revitalization of urban areas, and we're seeing millennials moving into downtown areas," Mike Grams, Taco Bell's chief operating officer, told Food & Wine.

Taco Bell proves time and time again that they are not afraid to try new things. The company recently unveiled a "Forbidden Burrito," following a release of the "Naked Egg Taco." They've even taken it beyond the menu with an Xbox One X pop-up arcade in Seattle and a Taco Bell wedding chapel in Las Vegas. For food menu secrets and surprising facts, here are 9 things you didn't know about Taco Bell.