Latest news with #DecadesMenu
Hindustan Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Virginia-Highland neighbourhood loses original Taco Mac store after nearly 50 years
After nearly five decades of serving up wings, beer, and memories, Taco Mac has officially closed its flagship location in Atlanta's Virginia-Highland neighbourhood. The beloved spot, which first opened in 1979, welcomed its last customer this week—but leadership says the brand's story is far from over. Also Read: Bahama Breeze: 15 locations abruptly shut down across the US Many residents were disheartened after Taco Mac shut down its store. However, CEO Harold Martin said, 'This isn't the end of the story - it's a milestone in our journey. We're deeply grateful for our roots in the Virginia-Highlands neighbourhood in Atlanta, Georgia, and we're more excited than ever for what's ahead,' as reported by The Mirror US. The company has insisted that the closure of the store is a part of its broader strategy for growth. The beloved food spot functions at 27 locations across three states, namely Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. Taco Mac has suggested that it has plans to expand into other states. Meanwhile, the employees who were working at the flagship store have been offered new employment opportunities in nearby locations. In the coming days, the empty spot for now in the Virginia Highland neighbourhood will be transformed into Jack Brown's Beer and Burger Joint. Also Read: Preakness Stakes 2025 prize money: How much does the winner take home? One of Taco Bell's most historic locations—Restaurant 31 in Scottsdale, Arizona—officially closed its doors earlier this month, marking the end of an era for the fast-food chain. Opened in the 1960s, it was the 31st Taco Bell ever built and had preserved much of the brand's original charm, including a Spanish tile roof and a vintage Taco Bell sign. The closure coincided with the launch of Taco Bell's Decades Menu, which celebrated fan-favourite items from the past, such as the '60s Tostada, '70s Green Sauce Burrito, '80s Meximelt, and '90s Gordita.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why The Taco Bell Chihuahua Ads Got The Company Into Hot Water
Taco Bell has a habit of revisiting the past in an effort to spark nostalgia, like it did with the limited-time Decades Menu that brought back fans' old favorite foods. What the chain doesn't want to revisit, though, is its 1990s ad campaign that featured Gidget the chihuahua and the voice actor Carlos Alazraqui. Together, these two planted the phrase "Yo quiero Taco Bell" in the minds of millennials for eternity. However, it turns out that the story behind Taco Bell's infamous ad campaign doesn't exactly match the chill vibes the fast food restaurant was trying to give off at the time. At a 1996 New York trade show, Joseph Shields and Thomas Rinks were pitching their idea for a cartoon dog they called "Psycho Chihuahua." They were spotted by Taco Bell's licensing manager Ed Alfaro who then took the idea back to Taco Bell. After a few months of what seemed like the fast food company preparing to run with "Psycho Chihuahua," Taco Bell then shocked not only Shields and Rinks but also Alfaro by pulling out of the deal. Not long after, Taco Bell partnered with a different ad agency, TBWA Chiat/Day, which presented an idea for an ad campaign starring a talking chihuahua. Despite Alfaro pointing out the similarities between this ad and the one pitched by Shields and Rinks, company executives including Peter Waller, the chain's president, and Chief Marketing Officer Vada Hill decided to roll with the new chihuahua idea. Unsurprisingly, Shields and Rinks filed a lawsuit against Taco Bell shortly after the first commercial aired in 1997. Read more: Restaurant Chains That Use The Highest Quality Beef In Their Tacos While Gidget the chihuahua was busy gaining fame, behind the scenes, the lawsuit against Taco Bell was quickly becoming one of the most interesting food lawsuits of all time. In June 2003, Taco Bell was ordered by a federal jury to pay Thomas Rinks and Joseph Shields $30 million in damages. Shortly after, a judge added an additional $12 million of interest to the total. The immense amount of money owed prompted Taco Bell to file a lawsuit against the ad agency TBWA Chiat/Day, claiming the company was liable for the damages as it had plagiarized "Psycho Chihuahua." TBWA was represented in the case by Doug Emhoff (who would later become the United States' first ever second gentleman). Emhoff claimed the ad agency was no more than a third party caught in the middle. In 2009, it was finally ruled that the ad agency was not liable for any of the damages regarding the '90s ad campaign and that Taco Bell was solely responsible for paying the amount owed to the creators of "Psycho Chihuahua." Aside from costing the chain millions of dollars, the Taco Bell chihuahua ad campaign also raised eyebrows. Many people thought the campaign was racist or, at the very least, insensitive and distasteful. It may have been possible for Taco Bell to save the campaign and keep the chihuahua if it had shifted gears early on, but the fast-food giant made matters worse with the release of a 1998 commercial that featured the dog in a beret -- an unsubtle representation of revolutionary Che Guevara. The commercial sparked outrage, and a civil rights activist from Sacramento, Mario Obledo, told the LA Times, "To equate a dog with an entire ethnic population is outrageous, despicable, demeaning, and degrading." It turns out, many consumers felt the same way. In 2000, Taco Bell sales in restaurants that had been open for at least one year fell by 6% in the second quarter. This decline was the largest the company had ever experienced and many people blamed the chain's chihuahua ad campaign. (This made Taco Bell's chihuahua ad campaign far more damaging than any other fast food marketing gaffe from around this time, including Burger King's 1980s advertising error.) As a result, Taco Bell switched advertising agencies, leaving TBWA Chiat/Day -- and Gidget -- behind. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
