Boston could get more Taco Bells, starting in South Boston

Update: Food-serving license granted.

The Boston Licensing Board could decide tomorrow whether to let a Taco Bell franchisee build one of its next-gen outlets, which feels more like a cantina than a fast-food drive-through, and which could be part of a series of new Taco Bells across Boston.

"Boston does not have a lot of Taco Bells," franchisee Bill Georgas told the licensing board at a hearing this morning. "We have been designated as a key developer of Boston going forward."

Unlike a new Taco Bell Cantina on Commonwealth Avenue near Boston University, which Georgas also owns, the new South Boston outlet, at 449 West Broadway, will neither be called a "cantina" nor ever seek an alcohol license, under a deal between neighbors and Georgas.

At this morning's hearing, to ask for a food-serving license, Georgas and his attorney, Stephen Miller, said residents felt that "Taco Bell Cantina" sounded like the kind of place you could get an adult beverage, even if Taco Bell wants people to think "cantina" as in a fun, lively experience, not "cantina" as in a place to get drunk, hire spaceship captains and get your arm sliced off with a light saber.

Georgas also agreed to limit the restaurant's closing time to midnight most nights and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, rather than the 2 a.m. he had originally sought. And the outlet's ordering system will shut off orders when too many come in at once, limiting the number of food-delivery vehicles that might arrive outside all at once.

City Councilor Ed Flynn supported the proposal, based on Georgas's community outreach and "good faith" bargaining to minimize its impact on the neighborhood.

Georgas, who already operates 75 Taco Bells, said he recognizes the importance of working with neighbors - and with educating them that Taco Bell is no longer the sort of place most people still think it is.

Although there are more than 7,000 Taco Bells worldwide, Boston has long had a paucity of them - there are currently Taco Bells in West Roxbury and downtown, along with the one on Comm. Ave. "The brand has made significant changes over the past decade, with many healthy options and many new menu options," Miller said.