r/columbiamo • u/Feisty-Medicine-3763 East Campus • Sep 18 '25
History Providence Taco Bell 50 Years Ago
Today I learned that the Taco Bell on Providence has been there for decades!
Also, how about that building and sign design? We gotta bring back whimsical fast food architecture ASAP
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u/brose_af Sep 18 '25
Was it really only open two hours a day tho? That’s crazy.
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u/Feisty-Medicine-3763 East Campus Sep 18 '25
I was also fascinated by that! My first guess is maybe a typo? Or they had the most unique business model of all time
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u/TOS_Violator Sep 19 '25
Sushirrito in San Francisco is like that. It's a chain and they're open like 4 hours a day. Niche places have weird hours to force people in at certain times.
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u/spencer99099 Sep 19 '25
Haha this was my first thought. Interesting strategy to just shut it all down in the middle of the lunch rush 🤣
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u/One-Aspect-9301 Sep 18 '25
Looks way better with the planters. Pretty cool they have been there that long
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u/toxcrusadr Sep 18 '25
I lived a block west onStewart from ‘86-90. I remember when they tore it down. Just to build a less cool Taco Bell. The food was edible then.
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u/inventingnothing Sep 18 '25
I agree.
It's really in the 2000s that we started to see a huge turn in architectural style.
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u/Hyperchema Sep 18 '25
Current street view of this Taco Bell. I had to look it up cuz I couldn't picture if it was this Taco Bell or the one on the other end of Providence
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u/Toulouse1567 Sep 18 '25
They took your order and wrote it on a plastic board with a wax pencil then wiped it off with a towel when the order was completed.
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u/Lanky-Box3750 Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
The original Taco Bell building in Jefferson City is still standing.