Opening day arrives for Taco Bell Bathurst after years of planning

Tuesday, May 2 is the opening date for the long-awaited restaurant, with the first customers to be served from 10am.

Chief management officer for Taco Bell Australia, Andrew Howie, said it comes after a string of stores were opened across the country in recent weeks.

"Every new store that we open seems to welcome even more customers than the previous, so the brand is certainly building some momentum," he said.

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There is already one Taco Bell store open in the Central West, located in Orange, and another regional NSW outlet in Tamworth.

Both have been well received by their communities and the same is anticipated for Bathurst.

"They're really solid businesses. We get a lot of customers through those each week," Mr Howie said.

Opening day celebrations in Bathurst will include giving away a Mountain Dew x Taco Bell branded mini-fridge and assorted Taco Bell merch, as well as prizes using the prize wheel.

Mr Howie is anticipating thousands of people to come through the doors on Tuesday to try out Taco Bell for the first time.

"There's been a couple of other openings for new restaurants in the area recently that have all gone really well, so we're not expecting [Tuesday] to be any different for us," he said.

"We service thousands of people on the first day and then that momentum continues usually for a few months, so that is pretty exciting."

With such a crowd expected, he is asking people to be patient with staff.

While they have been in training for weeks and been able to practice with pre-opening day deliveries, this will be their first experience with a full store of customers.

"Our first day is always massively popular, and we just ask people to come along, be patient and be kind," Mr Howie said.

"It's a new team who are doing their absolute best, and it's not just one day that we're open.

"If the queue's a bit long, they're always welcome to come back on Wednesday or Thursday, but we're excited to get as many people through [on opening day] as we can."

Taco Bell offers a full menu of Mexican-inspired food items, including the Crunchwrap Supreme and the Chipotle Crunch Burrito.

Mr Howie said there are also some great vegetarian options.

Taco Bell Bathurst is located on the corner of Stewart and Howick streets.

Taco Bell's plans first came to light when a development application was lodged in November, 2019.

However, it was a tough road from there, with concerns raised by councillors and the community about the potential impact on traffic and safety if the outlet was to open in the location proposed.

When the DA was approved in June, 2020, there were more than 80 conditions of consent attached to it, including one to address the safety concerns by only permitting entry to the site via Howick Street, with all traffic having to exit via Stewart Street.

Two months later, the plans were back before Bathurst Regional Council, with the developer at the time seeking to delete the condition limiting ingress and egress.

The condition, even after a rescission motion was lodged by several councillors, was upheld.

When the Bathurst restaurant opens, it will offer eat-in and drive-through options for customers.