Brian Leeman

2/4/11

English 102

Iresearcher

Taking Tacos To The Top

The Taco Bell fast food restaurant in Norwell, Massachusetts is the site in which I will be

researching for my ethnography project. I chose this site for my project because I’ve been

around it my entire life. As of today, all nineteen years of my life have been in Rockland and this

taco bell is literally three minutes away from my house. My family and I used to grab dinner

from there on a Thursday night when my father came home from work. Also, it is a top hangout

spot for virtually anyone under the age of 20 in Rockland and it’s hard not to find someone you

know there. What I’ve noticed about taco bell is that there are quite a few interesting people

that work and eat there. My plan is to study all of my surroundings at Taco Bell and see just

exactly what makes people continue to come and what the entire process of working at taco

bell is like. The goal of this research project is to figure out as much as I can about taco bell so

that a person who has never seen it can literally feel like they are there.

Taco Bell is one of those places that people of all ages come to enjoy food of the

Mexican heritage. Although the food is based on Mexican food, it’s a rarity to see a legitimate

Mexican in the restaurant and almost never behind the counter. The common demographic for

taco bell is younger people, generally between the ages of 14 to 20 or so. In general, people of
all kinds go to taco bell. You’ll see younger children with their parents eating there, or even

older men and women enjoying a taco. Also it is very often to see teenagers under the

influence of marijuana at a late night taco bell, especially going through the drive thru. I believe

this reason is because there are so many items that cost very little and one with ‘the munchies’

would be able to buy quite a bit of food for a low price. Even when inebriated, people still know

where the good deals are. While most of the people in taco bell are nice and mellow, there is

the constant threat of belligerent children coming to taco bell. Even teenagers around the age

of fifteen will storm into taco bell in packs and act ridiculous and loud. Recently I went to taco

bell with a few friends and a party of what seemed to be about 20 fifteen year old kids came in

making a ruckus and causing trouble. Another reason I believe that ‘t-bell’ is so popular is the

versatile menu. There are plenty of things to choose from. From your average items such as

tacos and burritos, to crunchwrap supremes, chalupas and different variations of the classics,

all of these items are at a very reasonable price. You could get about 1.7 taco bell meals for the

average large meal at a Burger King or McDonalds. While there are many things I know about

taco bell, there are still plenty of things I do not know about the popular Mexican food chain.
 There are many mysteries that lie within the walls of taco bell in Norwell. My biggest

question of all is the choice of location. They seemed to choose an area with many different

food chain competitors around. There is literally a McDonalds across the street and a Burger

King about two minutes down the road. Obviously there was some collaboration between the

nearby KFC and previously next door Pizza Hut as they’re all owned by the same owner. But the

location of a store is one of the most important factors in having good business. I’d also like to

figure out exactly what the favorite item on the menu is. There is so much to choose from and

everyone I know has their own specific order that virtually never changes. My personal favorite

is the ½ lb cheesy potato burrito. This combines the great taste of the taco bell cheesy potatoes

with sour cream and the great taste of a beef burrito. I’m also curious as to how taco bell

manages to keep their prices so low. For the majority of their products, you get the main

course, a hard or soft taco and a large drink for just around five dollars. I’d also love to know

how Taco Bell got the exclusive rights to the mountain dew baja blast beverage which can only
be found there. In my opinion, it’s the most delicious of all the mountain dew sodas and I’ve

always wanted to come in with two liter bottle and just fill it. Many questions are to be

answered to the customers of taco bell and the employees that make the magic happen.

I can say that I’m part of the regular taco bell demographic. I am in multiple of the same

communities as those that go there. I’m from the south shore, around the same age of 19, a fan

of beef, chicken and steak and also a carnivore. An interesting thought about taco bell is that

going there around three in the afternoon it will be nearly empty. Yet if you show up around

ten at night, the place will be mobbed with people. One of the struggles of choosing taco bell is

that the people there may not necessarily giving much information. There’ll be some interesting

responses from some of the inebriated people there, but the average person may not have

much to say.
 In conclusion, the choice of taco bell as my site will have some interesting repercussions.

The site means a lot to me as I’ve been going there since I was young and it’s so close to my

house. There’s already plenty I know about the taco bell in Norwell, but there’s always

something to be figured out and there are many things that peak my interest. The demographic

of taco bell fits in perfectly with myself and I feel that this ethnography project is going to be a

huge success.

Brian you make it clear that you know a lot about Taco Bell and this location imparticular. What

can you tell readers about the details of this place? You don’t say much about what you know it

looks like or what the surroundings are.