Taco Bell Started 60 Years Ago In Downey, California With This 5-Item Menu

The first Taco Bell opened in Downey, California nearly six decades ago and it looked very different. According to FOX5, the first location was about the size of a two-car garage, didn't have indoor seating or a drive-thru, and the menu included several items that we'd be shocked to see at the beloved chain today. The chain's founder, Glen Bell, had an idea for a small walk-up taco stand surrounded by "shops, live music, and fire pits," according to Taco Bell's website.

At a walk-up window, customers had an option of five menu items: frijoles, tostadas, chili burgers, burritos, and tacos.

According to FOX5, these items lasted on the menu until the early '70s before the franchise expanded throughout California and beyond. Today only tacos and burritos remain from the first Taco Bell menu. Although you can't get a chili burger or a taco for 19 cents, the original Taco Bell restaurant is still intact after being saved from demolition and moved to the Taco Bell headquarters located in Irvine.

To find out what other popular fast-food chains got their start in California, click here!