Return to Taco Bell & the Crazy Little Chicken

It’s been a busy time at work and I volunteered to pick up lunch for some of my co-workers at Taco Bell in North Florence. After placing several orders, one went like this:

Me – An order of taquitos with extra quacamole sauce.

Girl – Extra guacamole sauce is twenty-five cents.

Me – That’s fine.

Girl – We don’t have taquitos.

Me – I think you call them rolled chicken tacos.

Girl – Yes, but we don’t have them anymore.

Me – You had them two days ago.

Girl – Yes, but we discontinued them.

Me – Discontinued as in you don’t have them on the menu anymore?

Girl – That’s right.

I drive to the window just as two employees are changing out the drawer. So I think I’ll try my luck again.

Me – You’ve discontinued your taquitos?

Second Girl – Oh, no. We just ran out of shells Friday night and the warehouse ran out too. They’re really popular. We’ll get them back in eventually.

So I decide to try the Crazy Little Chicken since I hated to come back empty handed for my co-worker. I park, bop up to the door, it’s locked. Then I see the sign. They’re closed for two weeks or so, or even more when I check their Facebook page on my phone. Who knows? At this point, who really cares?

This makes two not so perfect experiences at Taco Bell and the Crazy Little Chicken. Maybe God doesn’t want us to eat Mexican?


Cherry Pitts  

Taco Bell - North Florence

Taco Bell in North Florence is located at 1412 North Wood Avenue directly across from the Seven Points Shopping Center. It specializes in a very Americanized Mexican cuisine.

I have an invalid relative in North Florence so I’m in the Seven Points area at all times of the night and day. I usually get some kind of take-out as I leave for home when I don’t feel like cooking. That means I can choose from McDonald’s, Wok-N-Roll, KFC, or Taco Bell. I’ll admit to a weakness for Taco Bell’s food, but it is about as real Mexican as I am.

On the good side, I love getting a breakfast crunch to take to work in the mornings. Delicious and the price is right. Taco Bell has a great selection of other entrees as well, plus their Happy Hour drink specials if I happen to be in the area in the late afternoon.

Now the downside. Once in the drive-thru, you can’t get out. That means I once, for whatever reason, spent almost twenty minutes of my lunch hour stuck in the drive-thru. Once you get your food, you can exit on Wood Avenue, but it’s extremely difficult during high traffic times. Don’t try a left turn. Or you can go around and leave by one of two back exits, but that probably means you’re headed in the wrong direction to get where you want to go.

Dining in presents some other problems. A co-worker and I once decided to eat lunch in the dining room. No one was ahead of us in line, a line that isn’t actually a line that could cause problems if the counter is ever rushed. No matter, my friend and I had to wait for about four or five minutes before anyone actually came to the counter to help us. It appeared that everyone had one designated job and no one was designated for the front counter.

My friend’s order was wrong, and it took the same inordinate period of time for her to get it replaced. For those of you who dine alone, there is WiFi, and the dining room is clean.

I also suggest paying for your purchase with a debit card since I’ve frequently had problems with cashiers giving me the wrong change. And there always seems to be new cashiers training about once a week.

These problems aren’t unique to Taco Bell so I suggest you give them a try if you haven’t already. Ideally your first visit should be at a slow time, but all in all, I give the North Florence Taco Bell a thumbs up.

Cherry Pitts