Restaurants & Bars
1st Taco Bell Defy Location Opens In Brooklyn Park
The new model of the famous fast-food chain is reminiscent of a drive-thru bank, with four lanes to speed up service times.
BROOKLYN PARK, MN — The next generation of Taco Bell restaurants made its debut Tuesday in Brooklyn Park. The nationwide chain operated by Border Foods launched its first “Taco Bell Defy” location at 5931 94th Ave. N.
The new model of the famous fast-food restaurant is reminiscent of a drive-thru bank, with four lanes and a second-floor kitchen.
There is no dining room at the new Brooklyn Park location, which is aiming to serve customers in under two minutes by focusing on drive-thru service and offering several ways to order, Border Foods said in a news release.
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Customers who pre-order on the Taco Bell app will be able to “skip the line,” while drivers for delivery services will have two dedicated lanes, the company said. There will also be one lane for those seeking the “traditional drive-thru” experience.
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The restaurant’s kitchen is on the second floor above the four drive-thru lanes, with a conveyor system — built by Minneapolis-based Vertical Works — to take the food to pick-up areas, according to the company.
Border Foods co-founder and CEO Lee Engler said the new restaurant concept “embodies the innovative, entrepreneurial spirit of Minnesota businesses and franchisees” by offering a “creative, technological solution for a faster, contactless experience.”
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The new concept is “poised to be the future of quick-service dining,” Engler said in the release.
Taco Bell already holds the title for fastest drive-thru service, with an average time of about four and a half minutes, Axios Twin Cities reported, citing a 2021 study.
Border Foods is hoping to cut that average service time by more than 50 percent at its first Taco Bell Defy location in Brooklyn Park.
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