By the grace of God, the world’s first Taco Bell has been saved from demolition. And on Thursday, you can watch the mission-style structure roll all the way from its original Downey location to corporate headquarters in the City of Irvine.
The building (it hasn’t been a Taco Bell for years) came under new ownership in 2014, and it wasn’t long before the owners announced plans to redevelop the site. Local preservation groups immediately stepped in and were able to rally support from Taco Bell executives who helped ensure the landmark’s immortality.
“When we heard about the chance of it being demolished, we had to step in,” Taco Bell CEO Brian Niccol told Los Angeles magazine. “We owe that to our fans. We owe that to [founder] Glen Bell.”
The building will make the 45-mile journey via truck Thursday evening. It will drive thru the streets of Norwalk, Cerritos and Orange County before landing at headquarters.
Best of all, the entire event will stream live online here. We expect it to be somewhat like the Rose Parade, but perhaps a little more cheesy.
Keep on trekkin’, Taco Bell.
Image Credit: Flickr User 39908901@N06, https://flic.kr/p/cBRuVG via (CC BY 2.0)