Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

It's 2017 and you have to take positive news where you can find it.

With that in mind, consider this development: Taco Bell is chasing customers who'll walk to get their fast food fix. The chain is moving away from drive-thrus, reports Devon Walsh at Food & Wine, even though orders from the driver's seat account for most of its sales. Over the next five years, the chain plans to open more than 300 locations without drive-thrus in major cities.

Steve Patterson at Urban Review STL wonders if other fast food chains will follow suit -- and what the effect will be on neighborhood restaurants:

Of course, this could hurt locally-owned Mexican restaurants in areas too urban for a typical Taco Bell. Taco Bell is part of Yum Brands -- KFC & Pizza Hut are corporate cousins -- maybe these will also develop an urban model? Expect other chains to also look to urban areas for growth -- adding new suburban locations is no longer a viable strategy.

Taco Bell recently opened one of these "cantinas" without parking or a drive-thru in downtown Cleveland, right next to the terminus of the Healthline bus rapid transit route. Say what you will about the maker of the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, it's a big change in the way fast food sellers have typically operated in Cleveland, where their locations are almost exclusively in car-oriented suburbs.

More recommended reading today: Writing at Medium, Darin Givens urges Atlanta leaders to address inequality and dangerous traffic conditions simultaneously. And Stop and Move posts an update on the agonizingly slow construction of a not-very-complex Fresno bus rapid transit project.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Council To Close Instacart Loophole, Pass Delivery Industry Regulation Bills

The City Council will vote on Monday the "Instacart loophole" and force all app companies to pay workers a minimum wage.

July 10, 2025

‘Blood On His Hands’: Cyclists Slam Eric Adams After Judge Lets Him Remove Brooklyn Bike Lane

Mayor Adams will have “blood on his hands” for his decision to rip up three blocks of the popular protected bike lane.

July 10, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Fourth of July Hangover Edition

That Fourth of July lasts longer for some than others. Plus more news.

July 10, 2025

Brooklyn Judge Lets Eric Adams Rip Up Bedford Avenue Protected Bike Lane

The mayor's move to rip up the bike lane did not require advanced notification, Judge Carolyn Walker-Diallo ruled.

Universal Daylighting Has Majority Support on the City Council — Will Speaker Adams Give It a Vote?

Adrienne Adams is sitting on a landmark daylighting bill that could make every intersection safer for pedestrians.

July 9, 2025
See all posts