I might consider giving up my right arm if Menards made this. I've looked into having the older style (think 1990's) Taco Bell's laser cut. There is already a great kit in HO that just needs scaled up. I love my trains, but Taco Bell is pretty high up on that list as well. My first real job in High School was at a Taco Bell and for some reason I still like it all these years later. 

Last year we flew out to California and had dinner at their main test kitchen. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I'm glad we were able to participate in. So bottom line, yes please can we have an O gauge Taco Bell?

It is a cool building and Menards should make one.

But on a sad note all the taco bells in my area haved closed. I love Taco Bell. 

Dave

I'm sorry, I can't answer this question.. Bob

david1 posted:

It is a cool building and Menards should make one.

But on a sad note all the taco bells in my area haved closed. I love Taco Bell. 

Dave

Taco Bells closing!  America is in serious decline...

Thanks Dad! I think that actually answers the question! LOL

Menards should make the vintage Taco Bell building in O scale.

I agree with Play Trains. I am making space across the street from Starbucks!

It must include 8 automobiles to wrap around the drive thru lane to be prototypically correct.

I’m sure it will be issued in O scale. Menards has produced more buildings in O than it has in HO, up until now in that order, so I’m looking forward to the announcement whenever it comes.

Given the design is already in place, there is no question it will look exactly like the HO version.

I’ll have to make room for this one on a future layout, even though I have likely exceeded the available space for all the buildings— Menards, Department 56, Lemax, Lionel and MTH — I have on hand already.

Per 'Demolition Man' Taco Bell was the only restaurant left after 'the wars'......so yes...we need one in scale!

david1 posted:

It is a cool building and Menards should make one.

But on a sad note all the taco bells in my area haved closed. I love Taco Bell. 

Dave

How does a Taco Bell close ?

They sell like...a billion dollars worth of oatmeal slury and taco sleeves  a day all over the world 😄

That would be awesome!!!

My brother wants me to convert my layout to HO so I can have the Menards Taco Bell on it. I don't have the space to add an O scale one, sadly.

The property has been purchased and I am ready for construction to begin!

Matt Kramer posted:

Menards should make the vintage Taco Bell building in O scale.

Agreed with vintage! Modern just sucks!!! Like pain Jane vanilla.

But I have to admit, 

The above pic are the Taco Bell franchises that I grew up with since College in the early 1990's

on a similar note?

Chick-fil-a announced they would deliver in a ten mile radius of their locations. So

So who wants to buy my house, with the trains?

That's similar to the one near East Los Angeles College near my office. Nice.

I'd still like to see an In-n-Out Burger like [I think] Stu built a few years ago. The only problem is that you need at least 20 cars for the drive-through lane for it to look realistic (unless you're modeling opening day in Allen, Texas in which case you'd need about 500 cars).

Engineer-Joe posted:

 

  YES !

That Chick-fil-A sign must be fake.  The real ones have folks camping out for the Grand Opening and a chance for free sandwich per week for one year.  It's crazy but I've seen it over & over again.    

No way this item would ever appear on my layout.  I'm glad you guys are fans but 30 years ago back in my college days this chain was known on campus as "Rectal Hell".   I'll never set foot in one again.

-Greg

What I find interesting about these buildings modelling actual brands is that Menards can get the company to agree to do it in the first place.  I understand that it's just a licensing fee, but someone also in Taco Bell and Starbucks Facilities department had to actually likely submit floorplans, drawings of each elevation of the building, as well as likely approve the final design by Menards before it went into production.  And for how small the model train market is, why would these companies agree to go through all of this work?  Are some companies just more friendly to any marketing than others?

I suppose it's the same reason we see some brands of stores and restaurants in Department 56, too.  Dairy Queen, White Castle, Ford, etc.

As for vintage vs modern.  I like both.  We are used to always seeing the vintage versions of places since so many people model those older eras.  But I also find the modern versions refreshing because they are something we just don't see in our hobby.  The Starbucks, the Taco Bell, and the recently released Duplex are all examples of these.  So modern that they are shocking to see on a layout.

Licensing by big corporations is looked at in two ways 99.999% of the time. I learned this while securing licensing for my company that made NASCAR hobby items. 

The one group of corporations treat licensing as a 'profit' center. Asking and negotiating the highest fee possible. 

The other group of corporations treat licensing as a great, and cheap way to get their brand in front of more eyes....and in the hobby field young eyes possibly. 

What Menard's arrangements are only they know....but who cares anyway.  We get cool stuff!

Bobs answer is an answer. I'd say theyve go tit on the short list of stuff to m ake but Bob cant tell you, itd ruin the surprise!!!

AMCDave posted:

Per 'Demolition Man' Taco Bell was the only restaurant left after 'the wars'......so yes...we need one in scale!

This movie was on tv today! I probably haven't watched it in a good 15-20 years! 

Vintage, The new lacks any appeal to me.  

They used to under the Pepsi umbrella, but that was during the "Burger Wars". I don't know about today.

This little sauce sucker makes me wonder if I don't have some free buritos due me.... My dog used to hop the fence and travel a mile, interupt all the local little league games, go another 1/8 mile, cross with the light of the busiest intersection in Michigan, go another half mile to the driveway at the end of the drive thru, sit up to beg, and wait to get lucky ...this ad campaign was launced about a year after she started doing it. (my fault for feeding plain chicken tacos when she was with me)  Not tiny, but cute lab/shepard mix.  That taco bell was also likely the first and busiest Taco Bell in Mighigan.  For a corporate regional manager to be running it and have high up corporate visitors there often is a no brainer.  I want my burritos  

  A buddy had a weiner dog that would steal any hot sauce packages it could manage. We joked that's why it had a hot temperment. He'd beg to be petted then bite you. Then with the same happy look you see on the sauce sucker below, beg for more blood    

Is there an O scale chihuahua, or dacshund?

RSJB18 posted:

 Chick-filet   jees...I'll put it this way, I once considered The Colonel as my one and only tatoo. After talking about it, another pal did it before I could. 30 years later, I'm still ticked   He put a KFC bucket on the other arm later too.

Engineer-Joe posted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on a similar note?

Chick-fil-a announced they would deliver in a ten mile radius of their locations. So

 

 

 

So who wants to buy my house, with the trains?

 

That's partially why I'm moving. Right now the closest thing is about 15 miles away and thats McDonalds. new home McDonalds,Hardee's,Captain D's, Burger King, Chic fil A, etc all within a mile or two  

No to be honest the reason is for wife's behalf. If anything happened where I couldn't drive or worst, She could have services like transportation for the elderly/handicap, Right now the county we live in offers nothing. But the above is a bonus. 

The taco Bell is about 5 miles away.  

   Hardees closed everything up anywhere near us. I miss it.  I also miss Burger Chef(&Jeff ) and the self serve condiment/salad bar (first salad bar I recall...pioneers?)   The Big Red Barn!  The building was iconic and only kinda recently razed for a Tim Hortons (ice cap extra dark please) 

 Never heard of Capt. D's, but wouldn't mind Long John Silvers or even Aurthor Treacher's fish&chips.

I've only had a handful of BK food since mid Burger Wars other than when a pal owned one for a few years. (long story, but corporate ticked me off. No pennies for the King anymore. And Whoppers rule! IMHO)

  " I'd like an omelette, plain, and a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, no mayonnaise, no butter, no lettuce, and a cup of coffee" 

Adriatic, PepsiCo spun off its restaurant brands (Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut) in 1997, creating Tricon Global Restaurants, which became Yum! Brands in 2002. By then, Long John Silver and A&W had been added to the mix, but those units were sold off again in 2011. Yum! still owns Taco Bell.

That first pic of the TB building is exactly what they are building about a half mile from my work place, it is looking exactly like that building that is in HO.  It is on the same site as the one that was there in the 90's and then it closed down and there were 2 other business's in it the last one remodeling the building so that it no longer looked like a TB, however, they were called the Burrito Factory.  It closed down about a year ago and then about 2 months ago they came in and tore the building down to the bare earth, foundation and all were ripped up and now they are just about finished with a new TB that looks just like the the top pic.  Amazing, I guess that is their new building standard for the current times.  I'm really looking forward to it opening as I eat at TB 3 to 5 times a month.

Is the HO version still available?  I would definitely  take the new version in O if they will build it and I'd love to have an original building also.

Great question and posts.

Was kicking around the idea of putting a McD’s on the layout.  Might pick up an MTH 1950s version or the later drive-thru  model they offered.  It seems like red-haired Ronald is on a mission lately to demolish the 1970s mansard roof restaurants and replace them with bland grey and tan buildings with no personality.  Not many of the old style buildings are left here in Northern California.

Lots of good guesses  here....

Am I the only one with media Deja Vu ?

Guesses?   Is that a clue?