A Boozy, 'Millennial' Taco Bell Is Opening Near NYU

NOHO, NY — Just what the NYU area needs: another fast-food joint. "Mexican food" chain Taco Bell announced Friday that it's opening a new outpost — with booze — in the empty storefront at 647 Broadway near Bleecker Street, formerly a small shoe store called ZiGi Shoes. It's one of 50 new Taco Bell joints that'll open across New York City's five boroughs by 2022, a company spokeswoman told Patch.

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The new Village-adjacent location will open in early 2018, the company said, along with (also boozy) locations in Bed-Stuy, Times Square and the Ditmas Park/Flatbush area of Brooklyn, and one (non-boozy) location in Corona, Queens.

Taco Bell's alcohol-serving locations are called "cantinas."

These cantinas "boast flashy millennial-baiting features like digital menu boards, digital queues, open kitchens, and shareable tapas-style menus," according to the Eater food blog. Their booze menus are mostly comprised of "Twisted Freezes" — a slushy-like substance that reportedly mixes flavors like margarita, cola, piña colada, lemonade, orange, cherry and blue raspberry with tequila, rum, vodka, whiskey or spiced rum. They also have a few beers on tap.

Here's what other cantinas look like inside:

Currently, there are only three Taco Bells in NYC — one in the East Village, one in Midtown Manhattan and one in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Taco Bell is shattering its old business model by targeting NYC and other major American metro markets for expansion, as NASDAQ first reported in May. Within the next five years, Taco Bell plans to open 300 new locations in big U.S. cities, according to NASDAQ.

Of the 50 new outposts in New York City, most will be located in outer boroughs, where retail spaces are roomier, a Taco Bell executive told Eater. Around 10 of them will be located in Manhattan.

Lead image via Google Maps