Why Taco Bell Failed in Mexico. Twice.

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Published Nov 2, 2026

In 2007, Taco Bell opened a restaurant in Mexico with an ad that said it "does not pretend to be Mexican food." About three years later, it was gone. It was Taco Bell's second try at selling tacos in the country that invented them, and today there still isn't a single Taco Bell in Mexico, even though McDonald's and KFC run hundreds of restaurants there.

This is the story of both attempts: a 9-foot buffet table inside a KFC in Mexico City in 1992, a 2007 comeback near Monterrey with cheese-covered fries and soft-serve, the reviews that called it "bringing ice to the Arctic," and why Chipotle just opened in the very same metro area in 2026.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Taco Bell tried Mexico. Twice.
0:35 1992: A buffet table inside a KFC
1:31 Why the first try collapsed
2:32 2007: Taco Bell is something else
3:23 The reviews: like bringing ice to the Arctic
4:17 2010: The second exit
5:07 Why it really failed
6:01 2026: Chipotle tries the same city

SOURCES
• NBC News / AP (2007): https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21209104
• Southeast Missourian / AP (2007): https://www.semissourian.com/news/taco-bell-opens-stores-in-mexico---again-1283234
• Mental Floss: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/588250/taco-bell-failed-mexico-takeover
• Mashed: https://www.mashed.com/1438570/taco-bell-doesnt-exist-mexico
• Chowhound: https://chowhound.com/1652297/reason-no-taco-bell-restaurants-mexico
• The Takeout: https://www.thetakeout.com/1579269/why-taco-bell-not-in-mexico/
• Tasting Table (Mitla Cafe): https://www.tastingtable.com/1482507/mitla-cafe-restaurant-taco-bell-origin/
• Atlas Obscura (Mitla Cafe): https://atlasobscura.com/places/mitla-cafe
• Khaleej Times (UAE return, 2026): https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/taco-bell-return-to-uae-gcc-expansion
• Chipotle (July 2026): https://ir.chipotle.com/2026-07-13-CHIPOTLE-ENTERS-MEXICO-WITH-FIRST-RESTAURANT-IN-NUEVO-LEON

IMAGE CREDITS (Wikimedia Commons)
• "Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico" – Enrique López-Tamayo Biosca – CC BY 2.0
• "Burger King Oaxaca Mexico" – Nsaum75 – CC BY-SA 3.0
• "Mexico City Reforma skyline" – Jonathan Salvador – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant" – MiosotisJade – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Chipotle burrito bowl - October 2024 - Sarah Stierch" – Missvain – CC BY 4.0
• "Chipotle Mexican Grill" – Tony Webster – CC BY-SA 2.0
• "The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China" – Lloyd Tudor – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "KFC Postres - Mexico DF Junio 2016" – Paul Sableman – CC BY 2.0
• "Calle Ruperto Martínez al cruce con Avenida Benito Juárez, Monterrey" – ProtoplasmaKid – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Mexico City 2015 021" – Mike Peel – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "McDonald's Mexico." – Alex69esparza – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Blank map of Mexico 2" – Mexicanec – CC BY-SA 3.0
• "Mitla Cafe dining room" – RightCowLeftCoast – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Mitla Cafe parking lot" – RightCowLeftCoast – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Mitla Cafe original classic taco" – RightCowLeftCoast – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Carlos monsivais" – Lourdesalmeida – CC BY-SA 2.5
• "Monterrey, panorámica del Cerro de la Silla (2014)" – Enrique Vera – CC BY 2.0
• "Panda Express at Ala Moana Center" – Coolcaesar – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "San Pedro Garza García Skyline" – italintheheart (Flickr) – CC BY 2.0
• "Soft Serve Ice Cream in cone" – Willis Lam – CC BY-SA 2.0
• "Puerto Vallarta Subway restaurant" – Coolcaesar – CC BY-SA 3.0
• "Taco Bell, Camilla (cropped)" – Michael Rivera – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Taco Bell restaurant in Clemmons, NC, at night" – Candeadly – CC BY 4.0
• "Taco Bell Hard Shell Taco" – Willis Lam – CC BY-SA 2.0
• "Taco Bell Senopati (2024)" – Medelam – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Taco and Burrito Taco Bell Meal" – Nahushraj Sonawane – CC BY 2.0
• "Taco Bell Night" – Anthony92931 – CC BY-SA 3.0
• "TACO BELL Hankyu Sanbangai shop" – Tokumeigakarinoaoshima – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Taco Bell Crunchy Taco overhead" – Willis Lam – CC BY-SA 2.0
• "Exterior of a modern Taco Bell fast food restaurant chain location in Murphy, North Carolina 01" – Harrison Keely – CC BY 4.0
• "Taco Bell, Sutton High Street" – A P Monblat – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Taco Bell restaurant in Tokyo, 2019 - 525" – Another Believer – CC BY-SA 4.0
• "Taco Bell Valladolid" – Jorge Franganillo – CC BY 2.0
• "Taco Bell Cantina in Las Vegas - 2020" – Jon Konrath – CC BY 2.0
• "Tostada de tinga" – Jennifer Woodard Maderazo – CC BY 2.0
Other photos: public domain / CC0 (Wikimedia Commons). Stock footage: Pexels. Illustrations: AI-generated.

#TacoBell #Mexico #FoodHistory