Taco Bell has been granted a late night licence for its Bristol restaurant to sell alcohol until midnight and stay open until 4am. The fast food chain opened its first premises in Bristol in December, on Queens Road on the Clifton Triangle.
Campana Ltd, a Taco Bell franchisee, applied to Bristol City Council for a licence to sell booze until midnight and to serve hot food until 5am, seven days a week. After negotiating with the police, the closing time was brought forward by one hour.
However, it could be a while before the opening times change - the restaurant currently only has planning permission to stay open until 10pm. It is applying for permission to stay open until 3am, but the council is facing a severe backlog and lengthy delays to planning applications.
Read more: Taco Bell in Bristol gets late night licence to sell alcohol until midnight
At a licensing hearing at City Hall on Thursday, January 12, Harvey Brown, from Campana Ltd, said: “We’re a local company based in the South West. We operate 16 of these stores across South Wales and the South West under this branding, and we operate other fast food establishments as well. We’ve been doing it since about 2005.”
He added that alcohol makes up a tiny percentage of the company’s overall sales, and he was not expecting many people at the Taco Bell in Bristol to purchase alcohol with their food.
The US-owned Mexican fast food chain has been expanding rapidly in the UK recently, and the restaurant on the Triangle is the company’s 120th to open in the country. Its first restaurant in the UK opened in 2010.
