Taco Bell founder Glen Bell Jr. dies at 86
Glen W. Bell Jr., founder of the Taco Bell restaurant chain, died Saturday at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. He was 86.
Bell was born Sept. 3, 1923 in Lynwood, Calif.
He founded the Taco Bell chain in 1962 in Downey, Calif., and sold the first franchise in 1964. He sold his entire 868-franchise company in 1978 to PepsiCo., which spun the company off in 1997 as a part of Louisville-based Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. Tricon became Yum Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) in 2002.
Yum Brands also owns Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s A&W Restaurants, and KFC.
Today, Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell has more than 5,600 U.S. restaurants that serve about 36.8 million customers each week.
"The entire Taco Bell family of franchisees and employees are deeply saddened by the loss of the founder of Taco Bell. Glen Bell was a visionary and innovator in the restaurant industry, as well as a dedicated family man," Greg Creed, president and chief concept officer of Taco Bell, said in a news release. "His innovative business acumen started out of humble beginnings and created one of the nation's largest restaurant chains in Taco Bell. Mr. Bell introduced an entire nation to the taco and Mexican cuisine."
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