Welcome to the future.
Taco Bell’s self-dubbed “brand evolution” has reached a point of no return. The fast food giant announced Monday that not only will it be sporting a new logo—for the first time in 25 years—but that Taco Bell’s 7,000th location and first flagship restaurant opens today in Las Vegas.
First things first, what gives with the new digs? Taco Bell has explained that the new logo, now black and white, is a part of a larger growth effort by the company.
Taco Bell plans on expanding with thousands of new locations across the globe (and 100,000 new jobs in the United States) to make themselves a $15 billion brand by 2022. That’s the plan anyway.
So how do they plan on doing it?
(Because a new logo, no matter how sleek, can’t send an already successful company soaring overnight, can it?)
I’m the first to admit that I may not eat Taco Bell but I recognize that it’s an American fast food institution. It’s a major player in the hierarchy of American fast foods chains, and that’s a fact that will never change. But who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?
For starters, the new Vegas location has a lot of features you won’t find at your neighborhood TB. You can buy booze 24 hours a day, while dancing to a live DJ set, shopping for bikinis and watching the game on any of its 16 screens. And if you get tired with all your shopping, eating and dancing, there’s always the VIP lounge area to relax in.
Whether you’re a fan of fluorescent lighting, taco teeshirts and Doritos Locos (not to mention their effort to be healthier than they’ve ever been before, just ask TB dietician Missy Nelson) or not, you can’t deny what CMO Maris Thalberg has to say about it, “If you’re going to throw a party to celebrate the growth and evolution of your brand, there’s no better place to hold it than Las Vegas. This flagship restaurant is our ultimate expression of the Taco Bell brand, and lifestyle.”