We Found The Original Taco Bell Menu, And It's Muy Differente

#1 It All Started With A Man Named Bell

Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell, who first opened a hot dog stand called Bell's Drive-In in San Bernardino, California in 1946 when he was 23 years old. And it was way, way different!

#2 The First Stand Sold 19 Cent Burgers and Hot Dogs

In 1950, he opened Bell's Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in San Bernardino's West Side area. However, with all the new hamburger restaurants popping up, including McDonald's, he saw his business drop off after just a few months. Across the street from his burger stand was a Mexican restaurant, and that gave Bell an idea!

#3 Bell Brought Taco's To California And Had To Teach Customers How To Eat Them Properly

He decided to diversify and offer Mexican Fast Food, which was a novelty at that time in California. (Believe it or not!) After studying the primitive method to create Tacos, he improved on it to make it more efficient, and in early 1951 he partnered with a friend. In 1952, he took what he had learned and opened a new stand, this time selling tacos under the name of Taco-Tia.

#4 The First Taco Bell Opened For Business In 1962

Bell sold the two El Tacos to his partner and built the first Taco Bell in Downey, Ca, in 1962. A master marketeer, Bell hired a Mariachi group to play Mexican music outside his restaurant. Needless to say, this attracted much needed attention to his new venture and associated his brand with Mexico. Genius!

#5 Everything On The Menu Was 19 Cents And No Frills

Everything was classic. Everything was 19 cents. Everything was awesome.

Its no-frills menu featured tacos (which are still Taco Bell's number-one seller), burritos (the current number-two seller), frijoles (aka beans and cheese) and tostados (similar to the tostada on the Taco Bell menu today). They did not offer chicken burritos or tacos until 12 years later, and nacho's were not added until 1978.

#6 The No Frills Menu Got Mashed Up By The Late 1960's

By the late '60s, Taco Bell's menu had gotten slightly more adventurous, inching toward the wild taco mashups we see today. The Bellburger -- the item depicted as a hamburger bun with taco meat, cheese and spicy sauce -- disappeared in the late '70s. It was replaced by the Bell Beefer, a 1980s favorite which is no longer available.

#7 The 1980's Taco Bell Experimented With Many Wild Recipes

By the 1980's the chain began selling a wide variety of new concoctions, most of which are discontinued today. Anyone remember the Seafood Salad, Enchirito, Chicken Fiesta Burrito, Chili Cheese Burrito, or the Blackjack Taco?

#8 The Franchise That Paved The Way To History

In 1964 Glen Bell sold his very first Franchise to Kermit Becky (ret LA policeman) paving the way to thousands of stores serving millions of customers everyday. In 1978, with over 500 restaurants, Bell sold his company to Pepsico for a whopping $125 million in stock. The rest -as they say- is history.

#9 The Company Is Thriving Today And Is Opening Other New Concepts

PepsiCo spun off its restaurant business in 1997, and the company is now operated by U.S. Taco Co., which also owns 500 Taco Bell Express and 100+ Border Bell's. The chain is still branded with other restaurants purchased during the Pepsico run, such as Long John Silvers, Pizza Hut, and KFC. They continue to experiment with various menu items and concepts, and are offering a program for young restaurant owners to get help with opening their first business.

#10 The Original Taco Bell Was Moved In It's Entirety To The Corporate Office In 2015

In 2015 the original Taco Bell building in Downey was moved to the Taco Bell Corporate Headquarters in Irvine, CA on the back of two trucks. The original restaurant was cut into two pieces then relocated and reassembled. It's available to tour at the site in Irvine with the original signage and fixtures.

#11 Bell Was A Marketing Genius

Bell was a master marketer, and used his skills to promote and sell his delicious recipes at a lower cost than the other fast food chains were doing. Through the years he had partnered with Mountain Dew/Pepsi, Pizza Hut, The World Series, Tropicana, Chevrolet, and Hoyts Cinemas. His concept of keeping prices low is still part of the big advantage Taco Bell has over it's competitors in the fast food industry today.