Pacific Bells, LLC, Construction Manager Geri Barr snags a free taco, one of hundreds ready for the ribbon-cutting event at the Ridgefield Taco Bell Dec. 18.
Ridgefield Taco Bell employees pose with Rally the Raptor following a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new restaurant Dec. 18.
From left, Pacific Bells CEO Tom Cook, Ridgefield Taco Bell General Manager Melissa Smith, Ridgefield Mayor Don Stose and Discovery Ridge developer Dean Maldonado cut the ribbon on the
new restaurant during a ceremony Dec. 18.
It was “taco Wednesday” — not Tuesday — in Ridgefield last week as the much-anticipated Taco Bell started up its kitchen and opened the drive-through window to customers for the first time Dec. 18.
City government and business leaders packed the roughly 2,000-square-foot restaurant to herald the coming of fast food to Ridgefield in a ribbon-cutting ceremony that morning.
Members of the Ridgefield City Council, the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce and rising Ridgefield star Rally the Raptor, mascot of the Ridgefield Raptors, represented local interests, alongside several executives from Pacific Bells, LLC, the franchisee for the restaurant. Word first started to spread about the coming of the restaurant known for crunchwraps and chalupas in June when the city received a site plan review for the building.
“We here in Ridgefield are experiencing a whole lot of firsts,” Mayor Don Stose said to those gathered.
Earlier in the month, the Rosauers supermarket opened across the street from Taco Bell as the first grocery store of its kind in the city. Both businesses were part of a larger Discovery Ridge project located on the southeast corner of Pioneer Street and 45th Avenue.
Though Stose said the Taco Bell would be the first fast-food restaurant in Ridgefield, he added that the addition meant more, addressing a specific segment of its growing population.
“The exciting part of Taco Bell is that we understand we’ve got a citizenry of students and young adults … that love fast food,” Stose said.
A few of those youths, avowed fans of the brand, were invited to take part in the first tacos out of the establishment.
General Manager Melissa Smith comes from managing the Salmon Creek Taco Bell for more than five years before helping to manage Ridgefield’s location.
“The whole process has been absolutely amazing,” Smith said, noting city officials and the community as a whole had been welcoming on the addition.
The new location has direct ties to prominent leadership in Pacific Bells, which is based in Vancouver. Company CEO Tom Cook is himself a Ridgefield resident, having moved from Salmon Creek more than five years ago, he said.
“While we (Pacific Bells) own 300-plus restaurants across 11 states, nothing means more than this one (restaurant) does,” Cook told the crowd.
Of those restaurants, more than 230 are Taco Bells with Buffalo Wild Wings rounding out the store count, according to Pacific Bells’ website.
“We are so excited to be here, especially since I live in this community,” Cook said after the ribbon was cut and tacos were served.
When commercial development was coming to Discovery Ridge he saw an opportunity to have a presence in the community in which he resides.
Cook said the design was on the cutting edge of buildings offering burritos — only three other Taco Bells nationwide had its layout. The design takes full advantage of display technology, utilizing a self-order kiosk and electronic menu boards.
“We’re bringing the brand into the 21st century,” Cook said.
Cook knows the brand well — he said he’s spent 11 years on the corporate side of Taco Bell with an additional 30 as a franchisee. In that time he never had the chance to operate where he was living.
“It feels amazing,” Cook said.
