Ireland could be getting more Taco Bell outlets "in the near future"

Ireland's first-ever Taco Bell opened on Tuesday, September 16 as part of Applegreen's new motorway service area on the M3 in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.

A queue of eager customers waited for the official opening of the American food outlet at 10 am on Tuesday and were rewarded with complimentary Taco Bell merchandise, such as tote bags and bucket hats.

Applegreen, one of Ireland’s leading retail hospitality brands, now says that it plans to add further Taco Bell outlets in Ireland in the near future.

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

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

Applegreen said it is creating more than 100 new jobs at its new Dunshaughlin facility, which also includes an M&S Food shop-in-shop outlet, a new Braeburn Coffee Café, a Burger King restaurant, and Crafted, Applegreen’s bespoke new deli offering.

The motorway service area also has an Applegreen convenience store, a children’s play area, and a service station forecourt.

The new Dunshaughlin motorway service area is part of Applegreen’s €1 billion plan to expand its business in Ireland, the UK, and the US over the next five years.

Applegreen, which typically invests up to €50 million annually in its Irish business, is also continuing to expand its Braeburn Café business and its partnership with M&S Food.

The Dunshaughlin facility is Applegreen’s largest single investment project in Ireland this year. The new service area also features Applegreen’s new Crafted Kitchen & Deli offer, which will feature a range of new products and existing deli favourites, such as chicken fillet rolls and breakfast rolls.

The Dunshaughlin facility is open 24/7, while the food outlets are open daily from 6 am until 11 pm, with varying times for each specific food outlet.

Applegreen opened its first service station in Ballyfermot in Dublin in 1992 and now operates almost 200 locations in the Irish market.

Applegreen has been rapidly expanding its partnership with M&S Food in recent years and now offers M&S products at 30 of its outlets. It plans to expand the partnership to 60 outlets over the medium term.

Applegreen also has a significant business overseas, with operations in Britain and the US, and a total of more than 430 locations and more than 700 branded food offers across its global network.  The Applegreen business currently employs about 16,000 people and has further plans for growth in all of its major markets. It had a turnover of almost €4 billion last year and serves about 180 million customers annually.

The company’s expansion plans are focused on acquiring and developing new sites in the markets in which it already operates, as well as upgrading and rebranding its existing locations. 

In the US, Applegreen has 181 sites, and more than 300 branded food outlets. It was recently awarded a 35-year contract to operate 18 highway service plazas in Massachusetts. Applegreen will invest $750 million to build nine new service areas and upgrade and modernise the other nine locations. It also recently started work on a new $70 million project to build four new highway service plazas in Colorado.

In the UK, Applegreen’s Welcome Break business operates 60 sites, including 36 motorway service areas and 31 hotels. 

Applegreen is also planning a major €85 million investment to further expand its EV charging networks in Ireland, the UK, and the US.