- Taco Bell’s Live Mas Café will put the focus on specialty drinks. It follows the launch of McDonald’s CosMc’s last year. Taco Bell is calling workers at its new cafe Bellristas.
A year after McDonald’s successfully opened a Starbucks competitor, Taco Bell is trying out a beverage-focused restaurant of its own.
The Mexican fast-food chain has launched a new pilot restaurant called Live Más Café in San Diego, with a focus on specialty drinks like Chillers, Agua Refrescas, coffees, and more. Traditional Taco Bell menu items are also being served.
And yes, the workers are, in fact, being called Bellristas.
“We’re always looking for new ways to elevate the Taco Bell experience, and the Live Más Café is the perfect example of that,” Taco Bell President Scott Mezvinsky said in a statement. “This innovative pilot concept is all about expanding the boundaries of what Taco Bell can be, creating a dynamic space where guests can experience our bold flavors in new and exciting ways.”
Taco Bell is collaborating with Diversified Restaurant Group (DRG) on the new concept. DRG is a franchisee that has been instrumental in getting Taco Bell to innovate. With over 300 units, at present, DRG has been a part of several new concepts, including the cantina design and the introduction of several new specialty beverages.
The Live Más Café makes its debut after McDonald’s launched CosMc’s, a Starbucks competitor, in Bolingbrook, Illinois, last December. There are now more than half a dozen of those stores nationwide, mostly in Texas at this point.
Customers began lining up as early as 3:30 a.m. when CosMc’s first opened its doors. At the peak, the wait was up to three hours for a drink and snack, the Chicago Sun Times reported. The café is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m.