Taco Bell’s newest restaurant has a fire pit and lawn games

Taco Bell has been tweaking its menu in recent months, and now, the chain is tinkering with how its fans get their fix, too. During the coronavirus pandemic, Taco Bell focused on making its digital and drive-thru experiences better for customers, and now, they’re working on their “destination restaurants,” including a Taco Bell Cantina that has a fire pit and lawn games.

The chain’s revamped Cantina restaurant in Danville, California, which opened earlier this year, has the outdoor amenities of their urban Cantina locations as well as a drive-thru, according to a press release. The first-of-its-kind location will also eventually have a full bar so you can sip on a cocktail there as well.

Even if you don’t live in California, you might want to get ready for some changes coming to a Bell near you. Delish reported that Taco Bell is set to open 1,000 new locations globally this year, and like the Danville Cantina, some of those locations aren’t going to look like your typical old-fashioned restaurant that only offers dining indoors.

In addition to the Cantina concept, Taco Bell is moving forward with other new ideas that have worked well in the pandemic. They’re opening a new location in Manhattan that will be a kiosk, giving a completely digital and contactless — yet in-person — experience.

Taco Bell’s Go Mobile concept features minimalistic restaurants and dual drive-thru lanes, which is ideal in the era of social distancing.

Amid these changes, Taco Bell is on track to have 10,000 restaurants open globally this decade.

“While new development is important, so is remodeling our existing restaurants to fit the needs of each trade area’s customers and surrounding community,” Tina Regan, president and COO of franchise K-Mac Enterprises, a leader in remodeling older Taco Bell restaurants, said in the press release. “We are always looking to evolve to meet our guests’ needs, and transforming to be more digital-forward is no exception. In the last year, we’ve remodeled three restaurants in our Go Mobile format, and plan to both remodel and build over 30 additional Go Mobile restaurants by year’s end.”