Julia Williams

Editor-in-Chief

Taco Bell, located at 5925 Independence Ave., is just one franchise out of 8,125 total locations across the U.S, with 140 in Missouri and 21 in Kansas City. It is additionally one of two Historic Northeast Taco Bell restaurants with the other at 1420 Prospect Ave. 

This “Live Más” mottoed company was founded in 1962 by Glen Bell in Downey, Calif. Previously entrenched in the business community, Bell had owned and operated both “Bell’s Drive-In” — a 1940s hot dog stand in San Bernardino, Calif. — and “Taco Tia” — a 1950s taco stand, also in San Bernardino, Calif. By 1967, 100 Taco Bell franchise locations had opened across the state of California. 

This Avenue location, while owned by an individual from Las Vegas, Nev., according to Northeast News archives, is managed by local employees — including current Store Manager, Tiffany Nevels. 

Nevels shared that she has worked for various franchises within the Taco Bell corporation over the past 25 years. However, she has served as Store Manager at this location for just around two years. 

“When I was taking this store over, I was really excited to do this,” Nevels said in an interview.

However, she is not the only employee at this restaurant with company longevity. Dani, an employee, shared that she got her first job at the Avenue Taco Bell when she was 15 years old — adding that it was Nevels’s sister who hired her for the position. 

While Dani worked at this location initially for three years before moving on to another franchise, she shared that she just recently returned after around 20 years. 

Serving up Tex-Mex inspired cuisine, items offered at this restaurant can include anything from classics such as soft or crunchy tacos, bean burritos and nachos to special menu items like selections from its cantina chicken menu, crunchwrap supreme and Mexican pizza. 

This Avenue location is open from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Sunday — promoting “open late” as one of its business strategies. 

For additional information on this Taco Bell location, to place an order or to join its rewards program, visit: https://locations.tacobell.com/mo/kansas-city/5925-independence-ave.html.