Glen Bell, Taco Bell Founder Died at Age 86

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Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell died on January 17, 2010 at age 86. Glen Bell passed away in his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California. According to the statement released on Taco Bell's website, a private funeral service are being planned by family members. The cause of death was not released in the statement.

Glen Bell was born September 3, 1923 in Lynwood, CA, south of downtown Los Angeles. His father was often out of work as a construction worker. Glen Bell grew up selling produce to help his family since he was little. At age 5, the family moved to Oregon, where he began selling cottage cheese door to door during the Depression. At age 11, the family again moved, to a 10-acre orchard south of San Bernardino, CA. That was when Glen Bell began selling peddling eggs, apples, and  flowers.

Bell graduated from high school in 1941, and worked for the US Forestry Service. He joined the Marines later, as a waiter serving top military brass in the South Pacific.

Glen Bell launched his first restaurant in 1948 in San Bernardino, called Bell's Drive-In. He learned from the success of McDonald's, and found his own niche market with his 19-cent taco.

He launched Taco Bell in 1962 in Downey and expanded around Los Angeles. In 1964, he sold his first Taco Bell franchise.

In 1978, he sold his 868 Taco Bell restaurants to PepsiCo for $125 million in stock.

Taco Bell is now the largest Mexican fast-food chain in the US with more than 5,600 locations and 36.8 million customers a week.