The closure of Taco Bell led to a ‘vigil’ and national attention. Here’s what will take its place
The coronavirus pandemic doesn’t serve as a hotbed for new businesses, but that hasn’t stopped Yallah Taco from planning to open a new location in downtown State College.
The Mexican restaurant plans to open a new, expanded location at 310 E. College Ave. — the former home of Taco Bell, which gained national attention when Penn State students mourned the closure with a tounge-in-cheek vigil.
“We were talking about this last year, and this came out of nowhere. I’m kind of an optimist because this will pass and it’s not gonna be for the rest of our lives,” owner Hitham Hiyajneh said Monday. “I can’t pass up that location; it’s a really great location for our business.”
The new location is expected to be more visible and have more foot traffic than the Yallah Taco at 217 McAllister Alley, which will remain open, Hiyajneh said.
Additional kitchen space should also allow for expanded menu offerings, like breakfast burritos and tacos, dessert and Mexican hot chocolate, Hiyajneh said.
He hopes to open the fast-casual restaurant by July 1, but conceded the opening date is fluid because of the pandemic. The restaurant will likely remain open until 2 or 3 a.m., Hiyajneh said.
About 25-30 people are expected to be employed at the eatery, Hiyajneh said.
“We’re trying to do the best we can to make it authentic Mexican with a Lebanese twist,” Hiyajneh said. “It’s gonna be a whole different dynamic over there.”
Hiyajneh said he views the new location as a “model” restaurant, one that can be replicated elsewhere. Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia are just some of the markets Hiyajneh said he wants to expand into.
He plans to open four or five other locations himself, but then possibly pivot to a franchise model.
“We’re trying to build this as a foundation. The Yallah Taco we have right now is in a unique situation and we can’t replicate that idea everywhere, but with the Taco Bell location, we can test everything there,” Hiyajneh said. “When we open up more locations, then we have an idea of what we’re doing.”