FOOD NEWS
Why Taco Bell's 1972 Menu Had To Include A Pronunciation Guide
By Nico Danilovich
In 1962 the first official Taco Bell opened, and it has stayed relevant with additions like the well-known Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a breakfast menu, and the crispy chicken sandwich tacos. The chain is so ubiquitous today that nearly everyone in the United States is familiar with the unique pronunciations of Taco Bell's food items — but that wasn't always the case.
In the 1970s, Taco Bell was teaching its customers how to pronounce the names of its offerings with a pronunciation guide on the menu ("buh-ree-toh" for burrito, "en-chi-re-toh" for enchirito, and so on). The history of the taco serves as a reason for this, as, unlike chili con carne, the taco received little attention in most of America before the 1950s.
Taco Bell's menu has changed a lot since then, and not just because folks tend to know how "taco" is pronounced nowadays. New items often stick around for a while, as Taco Bell's main attention grabber — the tah-co — isn't going anywhere soon.