---
title: "Nation's Restaurant News: Taco Bell design leans on flexibility"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/612135f9-0b0e-4e2b-b55d-1aebd24cc481
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-taco-bell-design-leans-on-flexibility-2705905
category: "Mexican"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Mexican"
published: 2018-03-14T14:09:26.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:33:37.178Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/7f6459233d5ded679092dab8e53caf995935.jpg
---

# Nation's Restaurant News: Taco Bell design leans on flexibility

**TL;DR:** Taco Bell introduces four design format variations for its buildings, shifting away from a uniform look. The brand's VP of development and design, Deborah Brand, says the simplification creates a more engaging customer experience.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2018-03-14. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-taco-bell-design-leans-on-flexibility-2705905).*

## Story

Taco Bell now offers four variations of a design format for its buildings. According to a recent article in Nation's Restaurant News, the brand has veered away from having a uniform look for all locations. Instead, each location is constructed using what the company calls a 'kit of parts.'

With this new mentality comes a more stripped down restaurant aesthetic. Deborah Brand, Taco Bell's VP of development and design, says that the simplification is a way to create a more engaging experience for customers.

The available formats are called Modern Explorer, Heritage, California Mid-Century Modern and Urban. Each restaurant is designed within one of these layouts based on the geographical location.

“We continue to test and innovate fast and furiously. We’ve always been known as an innovative brand from a food perspective, and we’re starting to carry that through from a design perspective,” said Brand.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Nation's Restaurant News (publication)
- Taco Bell (company)
- restaurant aesthetic (topic)
- design format (topic)
- uniform look (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/nations-restaurant-news-taco-bell-design-leans-on-flexibility-2705905). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/612135f9-0b0e-4e2b-b55d-1aebd24cc481).