Taco Bell Cantina, an "urban concept" serving beer and wine, is set to open possibly next week at the earliest at 710 Third St., and some neighbors have vowed to do everything they can to prevent it. Taco Bell representatives will attend a town hall meeting from 7–8:30pm Wednesday to hear their concerns.
"The community doesn’t want it there, and we’re going to fight any way possible to keep them from coming," said Christopher Do, a member of the homeowner's association board for the Beacon. "It hurts the community." The Beacon has 595 condos on 16 floors above the commercial spaces.
Even Do admits there's not much they can do, though, because the zoning allows it, as it allowed The Melt to operate there before it. "Essentially all the approvals are under the guise of the Melt’s approvals," Do said, adding, "We’ve reached out to [District 6 Supervisor] Jane Kim’s office to try to get them to do something, but short of legislation, they might not be able to stop the Taco Bell from coming in."
Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline
One thing in their power is to try to block the liquor license, and they've filed 440 signatures of protest with the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to do that. "This district has no protection," Do said, as other neighborhoods that have controls on chain businesses or liquor license limits, such as the North Beach Special Use District. "We’re looking to figure out any way shape or form how to shape the opening," Do added.
So what are the neighbors' concerns? "The Melt and Taco Bell, I would argue, are very different animals," Do said. "Part of it is the hours that are involved." At this location, hours will be 10am–midnight daily, but the patio will close at 8pm daily except for baseball game nights, when it will close at 10pm. (Later hours are allowed because noise from the game dominates.) "We’re concerned Taco Bell has attracted the people who have the beer munchies who want to get some cheap food after drinking a lot," Do added.
Also, Do said Taco Bell has a history of attracting crime (Hoodline can't immediately verify that Taco Bell has a higher rate of crime than other restaurants or fast food outlets). "Google 'crime taco bell;' you’ll get a bunch of listings," he said, adding that to be fair, crime happens at other fast food outlets, too. "The Melt was more fast casual," Do said, and the community "didn't have a problem" with it. It did have problems with the McDonald's at 710 Third St. across the street, he said, and neighbors were happy that parcel was sold and will be the site of a boutique hotel.
As previously reported, neighbors are worried that the sale of alcohol would draw more intoxicated people to the area at "all hours of the day and night;" alcohol sales would increase the number of transients, as the low-cost menu will encourage people to "get drunk on the cheap;" and the restaurant's presence will create more trash and littering. Incidentally, The Melt serves beer and wine.
To further a dialogue with the neighbors, Taco Bell's director of communications, Rob Poetsch, and the franchisee, Randy Rodrigues of Golden Gate Bells, will attend a town hall meeting at 7–8:30pm Wednesday at the Beacon's fourth-floor clubhouse (260 King St.). Poetsch said they want people to learn more about the concept, which is different from a standard Taco Bell, and to meet Rodrigues.
"I think people need to be aware this is a great franchisee," Poetsch said. "We selected him for this project. He’s a fantastic operator and has run restaurants many years in the Bay Area to high standards." Rodrigues and his team have more than 45 years experience running restaurants, and he operates 85 Taco Bells in the Bay Area.
Rendering: Courtesy Taco Bell
Poetsch said it's important the neighbors learn more about the concept, too. The color palette, materials and decor will differ from a typical Taco Bell, he said, but didn't give specifics. He said renderings will be shown at Wednesday's meeting.
The idea, Poetsch added, was to provide a "new urban concept" that has a different feel from a Taco Bell drive-through in the suburbs. "We’re going to have a plating that’s more open and more visually appealing," he said, including more basket and open-face presentations. "We’ll have our standard Taco Bell menu, if you will, but we’ll also have a number of appetizers, or tapas. Those are designed for sharing. Those will be new and distinctive to the concept."
This Taco Bell Cantina and the one in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood are expected to open soon, Poetsch said. The Wicker Park location has a liquor license and has visible beer taps, according to Eater Chicago, and has put up its menu, which includes slushies. In addition to these, the company hopes to open 10 more in the coming year, all in urban areas. Another boozy Taco Bell—U.S. Taco Co.—opened last year in Huntington Beach and had a snag with its license, too. It now has a temporary beer and wine license, Poetsch said.
"It’s a huge pity that there’s no public forum for us to appeal this because they’ve used the loophole of subleasing the lease from the Melt," Do said. The town hall meeting, at least, will allow neighbors to express concerns directly to the source. "I think it’s important for us to hear directly from the residents and get specifics," Poetsch said. "Our franchisee is listening to people’s input, and I think that’s the real purpose of the meeting is to get a better sense of what people want to have happen and how they want to be heard."
