Taco Bell

Taco Bell, the nation's leading Mexican fast-food chain with sales of $1 billion last year, yesterday launched a five-year, $500 million restaurant expansion and a new South Jersey center for management trainees. The company plans 50 more Taco Bell restaurants in the Philadelphia area. Most will be owned and operated by Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Pepsico. They will open as soon as the company finds sites, said Ray Cabana, Taco Bell regional vice president. The $300,000 teaching center in Evesham Township will be the management training facility for about 1,000 Taco Bell recruits each year, company officials said.

Instead of "Adult Gifts," the sign outside the vacant Jerry's Steaks in King of Prussia may soon read "Taco Bell. " An offer by Taco Bell has been accepted by the estate of the owner, Philip Gelber, according to Gregory Dean, an attorney representing Taco Bell. Adult Gifts, a purveyor of products that some have called pornographic, has operated in Upper Merion Township for 17 years and had eyed the highly visible property on Route 202, north of the Court and Plaza at King of Prussia.

Faced with the possibility of stiff public opposition, the Taco Bell Corp. (Eastern Zone) has withdrawn its appeal to the Haverford Zoning Hearing Board for permission to operate a fast-food restaurant on the corner of Woodbine Avenue and West Chester Pike. Earlier this year, Charles T. Held, the director of the Haverford Department of Codes Enforcement, denied the fast-food chain's application for a building permit and a certificate of occupancy. Among the reasons Held gave was that the plan did not provide sufficient parking.

Paul Richards, 17, said he likes his Taco Bell cheese fiesta potatoes too much to be frightened by a little E. coli bacteria outbreak. "I may go back for seconds," boasted the husky bespectacled youth from Princeton as he stood in the middle of yesterday's lunchtime hustle and bustle at the Cherry Hill Mall food court. Minutes later, he eagerly dove into a second basket of thick, greasy cheese potatoes that would have alarmed some even without an E. coli threat. "It's like drugs," said one customer, watching.

In its second time around, Taco Bell Corp. won a zoning variance to build a fast-food restaurant in downtown Wayne. The Radnor Township Zoning Hearing Board, which previously had denied a similar variance, voted, 3-0-1, Thursday night after the applicant modified its plan for parking and customer seating. The restaurant will be built on a 4,000-square-foot lot on the northwest corner of Lancaster and North Aberdeen Avenues. It was last used as a used-car lot. Under the resubmitted plan, the restaurant will have 21 spaces for parking, a reduction of one space, to ease encroachment on the required setbacks.

Chain: Taco Bell. Company description: This burrito is part of Taco Bell's new Cantina line, which the company describes thusly: "Chef Lorena Garcia created Taco Bell's new Cantina Bell Menu by using bold and flavorful ingredients, including guacamole, citrus-herb marinated chicken, and freshly prepared pico de gallo. " Nutritional info: 760 calories, 27 grams of fat, 1,960 mg of sodium. Price: $4.79. Review: The "Cantina" project is Taco Bell's unsubtle attempt to go after Chipotle, which has redefined Mexican fast food over the last decade (in more ways than one: Check out the company's stock price over the last five years)

So it's April Fool's Day, and a fast-food chain has some fun with newspaper ads claiming it has bought a national shrine of American history and renamed it "The Taco Liberty Bell. " Holy guacamole! Taco Bell yesterday gloated in full-page ads that it had purchased the Liberty Bell to help the national debt. Turns out the boast didn't ring true. It was a fast-food chain's April Fool's publicity prank. To some, the stunt was an insult to a patriotic icon. To Mayor Rendell, it was opportunity knocking.

Up on the balcony, in front of the thronging masses, he is unmistakable. Moist brown eyes. Tiny black beret. Big ears, trembling whiskers, and that distinctive Mexican accent as he surveys the cheering crowd, opens his mouth and proclaims, via the magic of voice-overs and computer animation, "Viva Gorditas. " The "Taco Bell Chihuahua" - alas, he has no name - has won hearts, 30 seconds at a time, racing up fire escapes, playing Jeopardy!, readying himself for a "Taco revolution," and, in the most recent spot, apparently taking over a nation to hawk Taco Bell's latest treat, the stuffed flatbread "Gordita.

Wawa knows that man does not live by hoagies alone. Sometimes, man craves a breakfast burrito or pan pizza. Accordingly, the locally based convenience-store chain has hooked up with PepsiCo Inc., the junk-food giant, to sell Taco Bell and Pizza Hut fast food through several Wawa stores. A prototype "food court" opened yesterday at the Wawa at 1666 S. Delaware Ave., recently remodeled and expanded to include the new pizza and Mexican food-service counters. Signs for the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell concessions went up on the store's walls last week, and right away Judi Bernardi, the store's supervisor, knew Wawa was onto something big. "People were grabbing me in the parking lot: 'When are we gonna get the tacos?

Wawa Inc., which fuels Philadelphia's morning rush with coffee and slices up much of its lunchtime deli trade, is trying to get itself invited in for dinner. Next month, the local convenience-store chain will team with Taco Bell to sell Mexican fast food in some of its stores. Wawa also is considering an alliance with Pizza Hut. "Both breakfast and lunch are fairly strong businesses for us, but dinner is underdeveloped. It's a big opportunity for us," said Howard Stoeckel, senior vice president for marketing at Wawa, which will open its 500th store on Friday in Mantua.

I'm certain Sarah Palin spoke for many when she tweeted upon hearing the news that a New York judge had prevented implementation of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's efforts to regulate sugary drinks: "Victory in NYC for liberty-loving soda drinkers. To politicians with too much time on their hands we say: Govt, stay out of my refrigerator!" No doubt those "liberty lovers" view dietary habits as a matter of free will and personal responsibility. If only things were so simple. There's no question that most of us can do something about our weight.

Company description: "Experience our new citrus-herb marinated chicken, flavorful black beans, guacamole made from real Hass avocados, pico de gallo prepared fresh daily, roasted corn & pepper salsa and a creamy cilantro dressing, all served on a bed of cilantro rice. " Chain: Taco Bell. Calories: 560, with 22 grams fat, 60 mgs cholesterol and 1,520 mgs salt. Location: The Gallery Food Court. Order time: Four minutes. Price: $5.49. Review: The Gang has to give Taco Bell points for trying - Americans need choices besides beef, beans and cheese smashed into a giant Dorito - but this "salad" created by Chef Lorena Garcia (we love it when name chefs work with fast-food restaurants to create meals for a million diners)

Chain: Taco Bell. Company description: This burrito is part of Taco Bell's new Cantina line, which the company describes thusly: "Chef Lorena Garcia created Taco Bell's new Cantina Bell Menu by using bold and flavorful ingredients, including guacamole, citrus-herb marinated chicken, and freshly prepared pico de gallo. " Nutritional info: 760 calories, 27 grams of fat, 1,960 mg of sodium. Price: $4.79. Review: The "Cantina" project is Taco Bell's unsubtle attempt to go after Chipotle, which has redefined Mexican fast food over the last decade (in more ways than one: Check out the company's stock price over the last five years)

A 20-year-old man was struck and injured by a SEPTA train Monday night in Montgomery County, authorities said. The man was struck shortly before 8 p.m. on the Lansdale/Doylestown line near Cowpath Road in Hatfield, authorities said. The man, who suffered severe leg lacerations, was able to walk to a nearby Taco Bell. He was then transported to an area hospital. The accident is under investigation.    -Robert Moran

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - today! - to Sir Charles Barkley. The controversial but well-loved former Sixers power forward, a/k/a the no-longer-so-round Round Mound of Rebound traveled quite a ways in his nearly 50 years, from Alabama to Philly, the court to the commentator's booth, Taco Bell to Weight Watchers. He's by far our favorite advice-giver in the DN's SportsWeek. But this week, the stars have some advice for him: Keep on keeping up your ends of deals, and you'll gain a whole new level of respect.

What prompts college basketball fans to shriek comments at players that are personal, hurtful and completely unnecessary? I haven't a clue. When I heard the "USA, USA" chant coming from the La Salle section last Wednesday at Temple while Argentinian Juan Fernandez was shooting free throws, I thought (and not for the first time), that the chant was really stupid. I do not want to single out the La Salle section (it is nice they finally have a section) because I have been hearing such nonsense at hoops games for too many years now from too many people.

Four people were injured this afternoon when a car went through the window of a Taco Bell restaurant in Montgomery County, police and a county dispatcher said. Just before 1 p.m., police officers were called to the fast-food eatery at DeKalb Pike and Colonial Drive in East Norriton Township. One accident victim was trapped under the vehicle, which had to be lifted with an airbag. Two of the injured were flown to Philadelphia by helicopter, one to Hahnemann Hospital, the other to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the dispatcher said.

Put a rush on that order - a life may depend on it What could be more intimidating than taking over a team that's 32-73? Try: Being eaten by John Kruk at a Taco Bell drive-through at 2 a.m. Buck Showalter, recently an ESPN analyst, was asked how it felt to rise to the challenge of managing the Orioles. "Have you seen the rigors of ESPN at 3 o'clock in the morning when a guy blows a save on the West Coast and you have to stick around for another two hours? "And then try to go through the Taco Bell with John Kruk?

With the rise of talented egomaniacs like Kanye West and Lil Wayne, rap groups have been in dreadfully short supply. Yet, Philly's Roots Picnic is lucky to have three of the best crews ever in one place this year: menacing siblings Clipse; ubiquitous hometown heroes the Roots, of course; and the three most visible of the Wu-Tang alumni: Method Man, Raekwon, and the wondrous Ghostface Killah. But even the Picnic's non-rap selections this year are unusually rhythmic. The dexterous, rubbery Vampire Weekend headlines this picnic after scoring a No. 1 album, Contra, the way spiritual forebears Talking Heads never did. The Very Best, whose Afropop/Western pop fusion has sampled the film True Romance and M.I.A.

I've never met Allan Borushek - "The Calorie King" - but he's usually with me wherever I go. His handy little book fits nicely in my purse, helping me decide when to resist tasty temptations and when to give in and chow down. If I'm stumped, I gaze at his wise eyes and mustard-yellow crown and ask, "What would The King do?" To make myself feel extra awful, I also consult Eat This, Not That , from Men's Health magazine's best-selling "food swap" series. (I got it from a friend who spent her teen years making me Butterfinger Blizzards - 105 percent of daily saturated fat!