March 21, 1962: The 1st Taco Bell Restaurant Opens

March 21, 1962: The 1st Taco Bell restaurant opens in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California, founded by Glen Bell. Fortunately, Alka-Seltzer had already been invented.

Born in 1923 outside Los Angeles in Lynwood, California, and growing up in San Bernardino, California, Bell served in World War II as a Marine Corps cook. So he was already used to producing a lot of food for a lot of people, quickly. He returned to San Bernardino and opened a hot dog stand. In 1952, he switched to tacos, calling his original chain Taco-Tia. He worked with John Galardi, who later founded the hot dog chain Wienerschnitzel.

In 1962, Glenn Bell sold out to Galardi, and with the profits, opened the 1st Taco Bell in Downey. He started franchising in 1964, and grew quickly. In 1978, he sold out to PepsiCo for $125 million in stock. He died in 2010.

Ironically, Downey was also the home of the oldest active McDonald’s, which opened in 1953. In 2016, the 1st Taco Bell building was relocated to the company's corporate headquarters, in nearby Irvine.

Growing up in New Jersey, I had never heard of Taco Bell until 1981. While on vacation in Williamsburg, Virginia, I saw a TV commercial for it. In 1987, the chain opened its 1st New Jersey store, in the Philadelphia suburb of Glassboro, near the campus of Glassboro State College, now known as Rowan University. By 1991, there was one in Milltown, about 3 miles from where I lived.

I actually liked Taco Bell, especially their cheeseburger and B-L-T tacos, until around 1997. That was when they made a huge change to their menu, including dropping those two items, and started those stupid commercials with the Chihuahua. It was in 1997 that PepsiCo spun off the company that is now known as Yum! Brands, which runs Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver and A&W restaurants.

People of Mexican descent generally do not like Taco Bell. They find it offensive, and not just for what its food does to the human digestive system. Comedian George Lopez joked about its lack of authenticity: "I remember when my Mamacita used to make us 'Meximelts.'" Of course, Lopez also said that one particular Taco Bell item, the "Chilito," translates to "turd." He lied: It's actually a portmanteau of "chili" and "burrito," and was first used by the Zantigo chain, until Taco Bell bought them in 1986, appropriated the menu, and phased out the Zantigo name.

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March 21, 1962 was a Wednesday. Actors Matthew Broderick and Rosie O'Donnell were born.

Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. The NBA Playoffs were between rounds. And the NHL was late in its regular season, with no games scheduled. So there were no scores on this historic day.