Taco Bell opens Superior location

Sep. 14—SUPERIOR — A new Taco Bell opened for business Friday, Sept. 9.

The restaurant at 3541 Tower Ave. is open from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily. It is the fourth Taco Bell in the area, joining the two in Duluth and one in Cloquet.

The lunch crowd was steady Tuesday. Some diners tapped their orders into kiosks; others ordered directly at the counter. Vehicles lined up in the drive-thru.

General Manager Aaron Mechtel-Kilborn said the community response has been positive. "They're happy we're here," he said. "It's been a very good success."

The Superior restaurant is getting more traffic than the Miller Hill location in Duluth that Mechtel-Kilborn managed previously.

"I've seen customers from there here, just because they don't want to have to cross the bridge," he said.

For most of the diners, it was food they were familiar with at a new, more convenient location. Evan Moreau, a 2022 graduate of Superior High School, said he lives "a minute away" from the new Taco Bell. Both he and Michael Pullen, of Superior, said they appreciated the restaurant's hours of operation.

"Some places around here aren't open as late. It's also kind of convenient late at night when you're just hungry," Pullen said.

"After sporting events, there's nowhere really to go after 10-11 at night," Moreau said.

Sunny Beck and her mother, Sonia Beck-Johnson, were just finishing up a taco lunch.

"I like this Taco Bell," Beck-Johnson said."It's more convenient instead of going up to Duluth or Cloquet."

Carol Larson, of South Range, and Linda Pazdernik, of Superior, were also wrapping up their visit. It was the second time Pazdernik had eaten at a Taco Bell, and Larson's first taste of the menu. She chose a burrito.

"It was excellent ... and the people that wait on you are just as sweet as pie. And we got the orders fast, very quick," said Larson.

Pazdernik agreed. "I thought it was very, very good,' she said. "Great service. Nice, clean place. New. Lively spirit, you know."

The number of parking spots available at the new Taco Bell is also a real plus, they said.

The Superior location currently employs about 20 staff. Mechtel-Kilborn said his goal is to more than double that number to 45.

Mechtel-Kilborn said online ordering should be available within a week, as well as food delivery through Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Ground was broken May 1 for the Taco Bell. The building project went a little faster than normal because the walls came pre-built.

The work was led by Superintendent Phil Randell with Nor-Son Construction, which is based out of Wayzata, Minnesota. He plans to assemble many of the same contractors for Nor-Son's next project, a Taco Bell in Duluth's Endion neighborhood near the McDonald's at the intersection of 21st Avenue East and London Road. Randell said Tuesday he expected to break ground for that project any day.