Excitement and long queues as Ireland's first Taco Bell restaurant opens its doors

Applegreen has officially opened Ireland's first restaurant of popular US franchise Taco Bell.

It comes as part of €15 million investment into a new motorway services area ay junction 6 on the M3 motorway in Dunshaughlin, County Meath. 

The restaurant which was founded in California by glen Bell in 1962 is famous for it's Mexican food. The chain will be offering an array of delicacies for an Irish audience including tacos, quesadillas and burritos. 

Taco Bell currently has over 8,700 outlets worldwide with over 1,150 restaurants outside of the US across 31 countries as they continue to expand their global brand and reach to the Irish market. 

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Applegreen will be creating up to 100 jobs at the new Dunshaughlin facility. The new service area will offer a host of food and beverage options including an M&S Food shop-in-shop outlet, a new Braeburn Coffee Café, a Burger King restaurant and Crafted which will serve as Applegreen's new deli offering. 

The new motorway service area will also be home to an Applegreen convenience store, a children's play area and a service station forecourt. 

Many eager customer queued up for the official opening at 10am on Tuesday morning and were rewarded with complimentary Taco Bell merchandise such as tote bags and bucket hats. 

The Dunshaughlin facility will be open 24/7, while the food outlets will be opening daily from 6am to 11pm with varying times for each specific food outlet. 

Managing Director of Applegreen's Republic of Ireland business, Seamus Stapleton said: "We're delighted to bring Taco Bell to the Irish market and to open our newest site in Ireland". 

He added: "Our Dunshaughlin site sets the standard for roadside hospitality in Ireland, with comfortable bright seating areas for customers and a range of high-quality food options". 

Applegreen has been one of Ireland's leading retail hospitality brands since they set up their first service station in Ballyfermot, Dublin in 1992. As of 2025, they now operate nearly 200 locations across the Irish market. 

Applegreen will continue to bring Taco Bell to various areas around Ireland with many more locations planned as they continue to expand their partnership over the next five years.