Allegheny Township has a Taco Bell.
The restaurant at 500 Hyde Park Road in Allegheny Plaza welcomed customers during a drive-thru-only soft opening Saturday and Sunday.
Inside dining opens Monday.
Customers lined up in their cars in the drive-thru portion of the eatery both days, awaiting the 11 a.m. opening.
The project was approved in August, and construction took about seven months.
“We were here yesterday when they had their soft opening. It’s exciting,” said return customer Brian Keil of Allegheny Township.
Keil, 40, said he and his wife are thrilled to have another fast-food restaurant option in the mostly rural township.
“I’m living ‘mas,’ and there’s nothing like a new Taco Bell opening,” said Keil, who managed a Taco Bell 22 years ago. “There’s few food offerings around here.”
The dining area remained closed over the weekend because the eatery was performing a test run, according to a sign posted on the door.
The restaurant will be a standalone establishment, not a combination KFC-Taco Bell.
Tommy Scanga of Vandergrift hit the drive-thru Saturday and said he loves to attend first-day openings of any business.
“It’s so hard for them. They have to work out all of the bugs. My order was wrong, but the food was very good,” Scanga said.
Allegheny Township Supervisor James Morabito said the new business has been long awaited.
“This shows businesses can survive here and they will be greatly supported by everyone. Thank you Taco Bell for believing in Allegheny Township and coming aboard,” Morabito said.
Located at Hyde Park Road and Route 56, the business is owned by Charter Foods, based in Morristown, Tenn.
Casey Shean of Leechburg waited in line in the drive-thru Sunday morning with her boyfriend and said she will be a frequent customer.
“It’s awesome. We don’t have much around here. Now, we want a Sheetz really bad,” Shean said.
