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Taco Bell turns headquarters into giant drive-thru for truckersTaco Bell turns headquarters into giant drive-thru for truckers

The Irvine, Calif. office is giving away free food Friday to large essential service vehicles that cannot fit into restaurant drive-thrus

Nancy Luna, Senior editor, Nation's Restaurant News

April 21, 2020

2 Min Read
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Taco Bell is turning its Southern California headquarters into a giant drive-thru for large essential vehicles that cannot fit through a restaurant’s traditional drive-thru lane.

The front driveway of the brand's corporate office in Irvine, Calif. will open for business Friday for serving a free custom meal for essential workers who drive large vehicles such as truckers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police and media in news vans.

The “Truck-Thru at HQ” will be serving a free meal featuring a Crunchwrap Supreme, Bean Burrito, Cinnamon Twists and a Baja Blast.

The makeshift drive-thru will be serving large vehicles Friday and May 1 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Since the COVID-19 crisis swept through the United States, restaurants – from individual franchisees to chains – have been providing free meals to frontline workers and local communities even as they face catastrophic revenue losses tied to stay-at-home mandates.

Earlier today, McDonald’s and its franchises announced plans to give a free meal to first responders starting Wednesday through May 5.

On Monday, Chick-fil-A and Chipotle Mexican Grill announced separate initiatives to help the needy and essential workers. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A has created a $10.8 million community relief fund that will be distributed through its network of more than 1,800 franchisees.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Chipotle Mexican Grill has launched a buy one, give one program. From now until April 26, Chipotle will donate a burrito to medical professionals every time customers name their burrito order "4HEROES" on the Chipotle app or Chipotle.com.

Taco Bell has been helping frontline workers in other ways.

The chain, a division of Yum Brands, has deployed its “Taco Bell Taco Truck” to feed 7,000 frontline workers in states across the U.S. The truck plans to more than double that number over the coming weeks.

Last week, Subway said it was teaming up with Feeding America to provide up to 15 million meals to people in need across the country. With every purchase of a Footlong sandwich, Subway will provide a meal to Feeding America. The offer goes through April 30.

Contact Nancy Luna at [email protected] 

Follow her on Twitter: @fastfoodmaven

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About the Author

Nancy Luna

Senior editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Nancy Luna is a senior editor at Nation's Restaurant News and a contributing editor at Supermarket News. She covers the industry's largest and most talked about fast-food brands including McDonald's, Starbucks, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway. She is an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years reporting experience. As a veteran business reporter based in Southern California, Nancy has covered some of the country's most beloved food and retail brands including In-N-Out, Taco Bell, Trader Joe's, Aldi, Whole Foods Market, Target and Costco. Luna is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton. When she's not digging for news on her beat, you can find Nancy regaling her fans about her latest dining adventures on her Fast Food Maven social media channels. Contact [email protected]  or follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/fastfoodmaven

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