Taco Bell in Fair Lakes may be razed, as owner seeks to update restaurant

The Taco Bell in the Fair Lakes area could be slated for demolition.

The owner of the restaurant at 12811 Federal Systems Park Drive is seeking Fairfax County’s permission to rebuild the restaurant and drive-thru with a larger and more modern facility, in line with the company’s efforts to modernize franchises across the country.

The application requests permission to add another drive-thru lane as part of the redevelopment effort.

“This redevelopment will bring a modern Taco Bell restaurant to the site, where the application will continue to serve its neighbors and the residents of Fair Lakes,” the Jan. 30 application says.

The building would stand in roughly the same orientation as the current restaurant, but with a slightly larger footprint of 2,710 square feet. Thirty-three parking spaces are also planned as part of the project.

Taco Bell’s modern branding includes gray scale fiber cement siding and metal panels with colored accents. The company also plans to scale back interior seating.

“Due to decreased customer usage of interior seating, the applicant only intends to include 52 interior seats for customers,” the application says.

The application is in the preliminary phases of the county’s planning and approvals process.

Taco Bell has another Fairfax location on Lee Jackson Memorial Highway.