Brian Leeman

4/4/11

English 102

Taco Bell Ethnography

Taking Tacos To The Top

The Taco Bell fast food restaurant in Norwell, Massachusetts is the site in which I will be

researching for my ethnography project. I chose this site for my project because I’ve been

around it my entire life. As of today, all nineteen years of my life have been in Rockland and this

taco bell is literally three minutes away from my house. My family and I used to grab dinner

from there on a Thursday night when my father came home from work. Also it is a top hangout

spot for virtually anyone under the age of 20 in Rockland and it’s hard not to find someone you

know there. What I’ve noticed about taco bell is that there are quite a few interesting people

that work and eat there. My plan is to study all of my surroundings at Taco Bell and see just

exactly what makes people continue to come and what the entire process of working at taco

bell is like. The goal of this research project is to figure out as much as I can about taco bell so

that a person who has never seen it can literally feel like they are there.

Taco Bell is one of those places that people of all ages come to enjoy food of the

Mexican heritage. Although the food is based on Mexican food, it’s a rarity to see a legitimate

Mexican in the restaurant and almost never behind the counter. The common demographic for
taco bell is younger people, generally between the ages of 14 to 20 or so. In general, people of

all kinds go to taco bell. You’ll see younger children with their parents eating there, or even

older men and women enjoying a taco. Also it is very often to see teenagers under the

influence of marijuana at a late night taco bell, especially going through the drive thru. I believe

this reason is because there are so many items that cost very little and one with ‘the munchies’

would be able to buy quite a bit of food for a low price. Even when inebriated, people still know

where the good deals are. While most of the people in taco bell are nice and mellow, there is

the constant threat of belligerent children coming to taco bell. Even teenagers around the age

of fifteen will storm into taco bell in packs and act ridiculous and loud. Recently I went to taco

bell with a few friends and a party of what seemed to be about 20 fifteen year old kids came in

making a ruckus and causing trouble. Another reason I believe that ‘t-bell’ is so popular is the

versatile menu. There are plenty of things to choose from. From your average items such as

tacos and burritos, to crunchwrap supremes, chalupas and different variations of the classics,

all of these items are at a very reasonable price. You could get about 1.7 taco bell meals for the

average large meal at a Burger King or McDonalds. While there are many things I know about

taco bell, there are still plenty of things I do not know about the popular Mexican food chain.
 There are many mysteries that lie within the walls of taco bell in Norwell. My biggest

question of all is the choice of location. They seemed to choose an area with many different

food chain competitors around. There is literally a McDonalds across the street and a Burger

King about two minutes down the road. Obviously there was some collaboration between the

nearby KFC and previously next door Pizza Hut as they’re all owned by the same owner. But the

location of a store is one of the most important factors in having good business. I’d also like to

figure out exactly what the favorite item on the menu is. There is so much to choose from and

everyone I know has their own specific order that virtually never changes. My personal favorite

is the ½ lb cheesy potato burrito. This combines the great taste of the taco bell cheesy potatoes

with sour cream and the great taste of a beef burrito. I’m also curious as to how taco bell

manages to keep their prices so low. For the majority of their products, you get the main

course, a hard or soft taco and a large drink for just around five dollars. I’d also love to know

how Taco Bell got the exclusive rights to the mountain dew baja blast beverage which can only
be found there. In my opinion, it’s the most delicious of all the mountain dew sodas and I’ve

always wanted to come in with two liter bottle and just fill it. Many questions are to be

answered to the customers of taco bell and the employees that make the magic happen.

I can say that I’m part of the regular taco bell demographic. I am in multiple of the same

communities as those that go there. I’m from the south shore, around the same age of 19, a fan

of beef, chicken and steak and also a carnivore. An interesting thought about taco bell is that

going there around three in the afternoon it will be nearly empty. Yet if you show up around

ten at night, the place will be mobbed with people. One of the struggles of choosing taco bell is

that the people there may not necessarily giving much information. There’ll be some interesting

responses from some of the inebriated people there, but the average person may not have

much to say.
 In conclusion, the choice of taco bell as my site will have some interesting repercussions.

The site means a lot to me as I’ve been going there since I was young and it’s so close to my

house. There’s already plenty I know about the taco bell in Norwell, but there’s always

something to be figured out and there are many things that peak my interest. The demographic

of taco bell fits in perfectly with myself and I feel that this ethnography project is going to be a

huge success.

Taco Bell is one of the largest fast food industries in the world today. As a conglomerate with

Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut, these chains have swept the nation as of late. Even

combinations such as Kentaco Hut and Kentaco Bell can be found. But Taco Bells creation is

actually much earlier than many expect. A World War II veteran by the name of Glen Bell was

looking to get into the fast food industry. He began by selling hot dogs at a stand in a Mexican

neighborhood, using his special chili sauce which would later become taco sauce. (Glen Bell,

Taco Bell) Glen began selling tacos for 19 cents in his stand. His first experience with a customer

is actually a very interesting story. "I'll never forget the first taco customer because naturally, I

was really concerned about his reaction. He was dressed in a suit, and as he bit into the taco

the juice ran down his sleeve and dripped on his tie. I thought, 'we've lost this one,' but he

came back, amazingly enough, and said, 'That was good, I'll take another one!' “Bell’s great

success led to the creation of Taco Bell in 1962 which was bought by a former policeman,

Kermit Becky.

Nowadays Taco Bell is still one of the leading companies in America and even have

chains overseas. There are 5800 Taco Bells and they employ a combined 143000 employees
world wide.(James Rabe, jamesrabe.com) Oddly enough, the first overseas Taco Bell was

created in Guam in 1977. Taco Bell averages over 6.6 billion dollars in profit per year and

average 36 million customers per week. A staggering research number is that Taco Bell

worldwide uses nearly 550,000 cows per year which comes out to 295 million pounds of ground

beef. They also manage to go through 106 million pounds of cheese and 3.8 billion tortillas.

Taco Bell went from a small time stand to a big time company that is known across the nation

and sponsored by celebrities such as Charles Barkley and NBA star Kevin Love. And as strange as

it sounds, Taco Bell averages one marriage a year in their facilities.

Taco Bell had an unfortunate law suit early this year that put them into a bit of a bind. A

woman from California filed a class action lawsuit on Taco Bell for supposedly having grade D

meat in their facilities. (O’Rourke, Risk Management) The case was lost by the women and Taco

Bell began a huge media campaign to prove their legitimacy. They put out ads that prove that

their meat is 88% legitimate and 12% seasoning for the customer’s pleasure. Taco Bell has

gained much of it’s credibility back and still has a strong popularity behind it.

On my first trip to Taco Bell, I decided to go around a time when business would be booming

there, 9 PM on a Friday night. I walked into the restaurant through the double doors and

immediately smelled a smell that I know very well, ground beef. The first thing I noticed when I

walked in was a “now hiring” sign in the door that looked poorly made for a big time fast food

chain to have. Coming into the restaurant there is a zig zag formed gate for lines but at this time

there were only two people ahead of me. One of them had moppy hair and a striped shirt that

almost made you think of a black and white waldo. The other kid reminded me of a
skateboarder with the same type of brown moppy hair and a zip up hoodie on. I didn’t hear

what the first kid had ordered but the second one got a crunch wrap supreme meal, better

known to Taco Bell enthusiasts as a ‘number 9’. A meal at taco bell comes with the entrée

which in this case would be the crunch wrap, and then a choice of hard or soft taco and a drink.

All of that is for the reasonable price of around five dollars.

The most interesting thing about this Taco Bell has actually just been created in the past

month. The menu board above the cashier and register is very vibrant and almost 3D, as it is

curved out from the wall. The best part of Taco Bell’s menu is the prices. As I mentioned, the

average meal is about five dollars, but there is so much to choose from. You can get beef,

chicken or steak on virtually anything and it comes in many different fashions. There are your

average taco and burrito, plus more creative things such as chalupas, quesadillas, gorditas and

other variations of these with virtually any fillings. Also they serve nachos in many forms and

desserts such as cinnamon twists. It was time for me to make my order so I walked up to the

register where I was greeted by Ed the manager. Ed has short hair but always wears his Taco

Bell hat. I’ve met Ed before and he can be a funny guy. My order was fairly complex. I chose to

get a cheesy potato burrito, a beefy crunch burrito and their newest item, the quad steak

burrito. Ed, being the funny guy he is told me that the order came to twelve thousand and

three hundred pennies. It cracked me up before he actually told me it was only around eight

dollars. Also they ask you for a name so they can call you up for the order. Although my name is

Brian, I generally choose something such as Clifford or Ted. I think it gives these employees a

little bit of a laugh because I think they can assume my name is not Clifford. One time I gave

them my name as Marquis and the cashier laughed very hard. On this night, I happened to be
wearing a l happened to be wearing my Andrea Bargnani Toronto Raptors jersey so I told them

my name was Andre.

While waiting for my order to be cooked and processed, I took my cup over to the

beverage fountain to observe quite possibly the most important artifact in Taco Bell. Mountain

Dew Baja Blast is a soda product that is made literally only for Taco Bell. Regardless of where

you go I can guarantee that you will not find this anywhere else. And what makes it so

important to this fast food chain is that it tastes ridiculously good. In my own opinion it is my

favorite soda and I’ve heard the same from many others. As I filled my cup, I heard my alias

called and grabbed my food and took a seat in a booth. Taco Bell’s seating arrangements in

their eating area are fairly unique. There are some booths and some tables that are scattered

around but there are some major problems. The chairs are bolted into the ground, making it

awkwardly uncomfortable for bigger people to sit. Also the tables in the booths are very small

and if four people are at one booth, their feet are bound to be entangled.
 While sitting down, working on my food I noticed two Abington High School students

eating in a corner booth. I knew they were from Abington because they were both wearing

sweatshirts that said “Abington” on the fronts. One was a girl with long dark hair and the other

one was a man with a very short wiffle. It seemed to me as if they were dating which is actually

a bit bizarre in my eyes. Who brings out their girlfriend out on a romantic dinner to Taco Bell?

I’m not necessarily judging them but you usually see more of that at a fancy restaurant and not

a fast food place that barely even has serviceable meat. What was not uncommon however was

seeing people from neighboring schools in this Taco Bell. It’s literally the only one even

remotely close to the area and people from Rockand, Abington, Whitman and other towns

come to Norwell for their taco fiesta experience. Other than these Abington kids and the two

punks I noticed at the door, the place was deserted at this time. I continued eating my meal

when a vicious thunderstorm began to break out outdoors. This confused me quite a bit seeing

as it’s February and there’s a ridiculous thunderstorm outside and pouring rain. It was the kind

of weather that made you feel like the world may be ending.

As I went back to my beefy crunch burrito a group of familiar faces came into Taco Bell.

Dave, varsity basketball player, track athlete and son of the Rockland athletic director came in

along with a few friends. Kevin is the a star of the hockey team at Rockland and along with him

was Jason Hall. All three of them seemed high out of their mind and Jay (Jason) had eyes redder

than the devil. It is a very common occurance to see familiar friends go to Taco Bell, especially

at night. Rockland people spend much of their time at fast food places around here but Taco

Bell is the most popular of them all. The three of them came over and talked for a bit and I

ended up giving my empty cup to Dave so he could save a few dollars by not buying one. At this
point Jay and Kev were laughing for no reason and singing Katy Perry which happened to be

lightly playing in the background. Before long the three of them had left and I was on my own.

A few minutes before leaving, a young man came in, seeming to be in his mid twenties, wearing

a drenched trench coat and ordered some food. He then rushed out of the restaurant after

buying what seemed to be three five dollar box meals. Fifteen dollars worth of Taco Bell would

have major consequences on even someone my size so I value his bravery greatly. By this point
the storm had subsided a bit and I felt as if it was time to go.
 The next Friday I decided to go back for my second observation but also because I was

meeting a few friends there for dinner. As I arrived the same aroma of smells filled my nose as I

noticed my friends CJ, John & Chris had already arrived. Each one of them was eating one of

Taco Bell’s latest and craziest creations. It’s call the twelve taco box and it’s a box of twelve

crunchy or soft tacos for ten dollars. I find the idea of that much food to a little ridiculous

although I believe I could easily take it down. On this night I decided to tone down my eating

habits. I went with an order of nachos bellgrande which is nacho chips, cheese, beef and sour

cream and also a small order of cheesy potatos topped with sour cream. The cashier taking my
order had a ridiculous mop haircut and was named Mitch. He seemed like he really didn’t enjoy

his job there. As I was waiting for my order I remembered one of the other important artifacts

of Taco Bell. There is a small chamber far left to the register that has small tabs colored orange

and yellow. You drop your change into this and if it lands on the yellow one, you win something

depending on the piece of a change. A quarter wins you a taco, a dime wins you a cheesy

potato and a nickel wins you cinnamon twists. Strangely on this night I managed to win a free

taco by dropping a quarter in. While I was waiting for my order under the alias of Ted, a tall

black man walked in wearing a Baron Davis Warriors jersey. He ordered the a very complicated

order of a bunch of different chalupas and tacos all without lettuce or tomatoes.

After taking my seat with my friends, the real irritating part of this trip came. Three

obnoxious girls enter the eating establishment and couldn’t have been much louder and
annoying. They looked like they could have been around fifteen and were all wearing northface

jackets. Their constant blabber and gossip echoed through Taco Bell as me and my friends were

trying to converse. It was approaching around 11 PM and Taco Bell was closing so virtually

everyone had left by this point besides the man in the Baron Davis jersey and his friend in a pink

polo that showed up about five minutes of eleven. Mitch came out and began sweeping before,

ironically, Dave and Jay showed up once again. This time they were in need of a jump on their

broken down car and looked high once again. CJ, who works as a mechanic in Rockland went

out and used his car to jumpstart theirs and sent them on their way. At this point Taco Bell had

closed other than the drive through and I was on my way home after two enjoyable Friday

night’s at the best fast food joint in town.

Taco Nation

I made my way into Taco Bell once again on a Friday night, expecting some good

subjects for an interesting interview on the popular food chain. I observed the usual as the

parking lot, like always, seemed much more crowded than the restaurant actually is. I got my

usual #9 from the menu and looked for a few interesting subjects. I noticed an older gentleman

sitting alone eating quite a few things but he looked familiar and friendly. I spoke to him and

found out his name was James Casagrande and a Norwell High School Hockey coach. He told

me a bit about Norwell Clippers hockey and how he enjoys sitting down after a long game and

getting some taco bell and that it’s a very popular location for Norwell students. After hearing

about the Taco Bell lawsuit involving the meat, he said it wouldn’t quite change his opinion on

Taco Bell. “I enjoyed the meat when I didn’t know what was in it, why would I change my mind
now? It didn’t hurt me before.” Says Cansagrande about the meat at Taco Bell. James was

enjoying his 5 layer burrito and couldn’t say anything bad about the food there. Casagrande

says “ I come here all the time and have never had a bad meal. My name even has Spanish in it

anyway. Muy grande!” Casa, as he told me to call him, says he brings his three year old son to

Taco Bell on occasion to and believes that it’s good food for all ages. The colorful James

Casagrande didn’t give too much valuable information but he made for good conversation and

was very helpful.

I sat around for a while, seeming a bit shy to find the next person and figured I’d

eavesdrop on a few other conversations and see what’s going on. There were two men, both

seemingly need their forty’s or so, talking about fantasy baseball. One was wearing glasses and

had grayish hair, while the other seemed a bit younger with black hair and both were dressed in

dress shirts. The older gentleman was going on about how he had drafted Adam Wainwright

and Zack Grienkie, who are both on the disabled list. The younger man brought up the fact that

Wrestlemania was happening this weekend and that it is atrocious that Snooki from the Jersey

Shore would be wrestling. Also he spoke about how excited he was to see CM Punk do battle

with Randy Orton and see the return of The Rock. The two were both going to town on their

chalupas and burritos when the conversation seemed to trail off. I then noticed an

acquaintance of mine from high school, Kevin Sheehan. He is currently a junior at Rockland and

a huge part of the teams hockey and baseball programs. I came over to him and he immediately

recognized me and said hello. I asked him about the thought of having a wedding at a Taco Bell.

He found it quite funny of that idea and was actually shocked that people have actually done

this. “Dude, that’s nuts. I love the food here and all but I can’t imagine having one of the most
important days of my life in a fast food place. But trust me, I’ll spend just about any other day

here.” Out from the bathroom, who had come with Kevin was Ryan Dunn, a freshman from

Archbishop Williams High School. He was very adamant about the Taco Bell menu. “I don’t

really come here much, but when I do, I love getting crunchwrap supremes. They’re the perfect

amount of everything, all wrapped into one tasty double tortilla shell.” said Dunn about his

favorite item at Taco Bell. Both Kevin and Ryan agreed that the coolest thing about Taco Bell is

the Baja Blast beverage that can only be purchased there. Baja Blast is supposedly made just for

Taco Bell because it has the perfect taste to go with their food. (Taco Bell.com) Ryan completely

agreed with this concept, “I think it absolutely goes great with the food here, it tastes amazing

and I always sneak over and fill the cup up again.” After talking to Kevin and Ryan, I ran into a

girl named Jessica from Lasell College who was home from break was with a friend. She had a

much different view on Taco Bell. She exclaimed “I really don’t like it here at all, to be honest. I

just come here because my friends like it.” She didn’t realize the severe number of cattle used

each year for Taco Bell meat. Jess explains “I can’t stand the way the meat is processed. It

comes out of like a soft serve ice cream machine and that’s so gross. And they use so much beef

and use so many cows. It’s ridiculous.” While not everyone may like Taco Bell, it certainly has a

strong following behind it!

Behind The Desk

My next step was to speak to an actual employee from Taco Bell and see what their

thoughts on the company and the product. Larry, a mop headed younger man who looks like

he’s in his twenties, was working the register. I’ve seen Larry there many times before and he is
somewhat familiar with me. Larry is a bit goofy, but he had a lot of incite on how Taco Bell is.

He explained how this Taco Bell was made around 1993 and was originally made because of the

KFC and Pizza Hut around it. All three of these companies are owned by the same person so it’s

common to see them occasionally in the same locations. Larry also had some interesting insight

on the meat. “It’s actually 88% beef, just like the commercials say. It’s all beef with a little bit of

seasoning, just like most home cooked meals.” Larry explained that the most popular item on

the menu has been the Crunchwrap Supreme and business was booming for the week when

they only cost 99 cents. Overall it was a very informative and fun trip to Taco Bell.

In conclusion, I feel that these interviews helped me learn a lot about Taco Bell and it’s

origin and also the opinions of the people who eat there. Though most of the opinions were

positive, there were still some that didn’t enjoy Taco Bell and find it offensively grotesque. Taco

Bell is definitely one of the biggest contributors to the fast food industry and literally the only

big time taco chain in America. The opinions of the customers of Taco Bell showed the different

types of food people enjoy and some of the hidden gems that it offers. Although being faced

lawsuits and conspiracy, they remain a powerhouse in the fast food industry.
 To sum up the Taco Bell experience through the eyes of an ethnographer in one word is

unique. This word may not seem like much as unique is thrown out to describe many things.

But at Taco Bell the experience is different than any fast food restaurant you’ve ever been to,

and that’s a guarantee or your money back! The first thing noticeable is the design of Taco Bell

which is much deeper than the typical cookie cutter fast food joint. The area is filled with

interesting color and shapes including a very cool looking board to order from. The colors in the

resturaunt range from purple to yellow and green and it honestly creates a cooler looking

environment than a McDonalds or Burger King. Also Taco Bell holds the rights to Mountain Dew

Baja Blast and by now you should know that this is more or less the best drink on the planet.

The most interesting thing about Taco Bell is the people, all the way from the interesting

customers to the comedic cashiers, everyone is a baja blast to talk to. Almost every fellow

customer that wasn’t drunk or high was very fun to talk to and seemed to really enjoy the

product there. The menu is so dynamic that there’s almost something for everyone. The same

workers seem to work there often and for the most part they’re a hoot! From Ed to Larry, these

guys all have their quirks that make ordering fast food fun. The people that go to Taco Bell are

the kind of people that are amusing in a different way. They’re not exactly the most normal

people in the world, but they can be very funny. I don’t think I’d trust any of them enough to

give them a ride home, but they’re sure as heck fun to talk to. They may be pot smoking dopes,

but they’re still very nice and informative people. If there was one thing I’d say as a conclusion

or moral to my Taco Bell story is that it is a dining experience like no other that will be more

enjoyable than any other fast food chain around. It’s safe to say that there is no better way to
spend a Friday night than to kick back with some friends and enjoy great food, service and fun

at your nearest Taco Bell.