Reston’s new Taco Bell appears to be on the verge of reopening.
The fast-food restaurant at 11257 Roger Bacon Drive has been closed for months, as franchise owner Summerwood Corporation undertook a wholesale demolition and replacement of the existing building.
Construction seems to have finished on the new building, which boasts a more modern look with two, long drive-thru aisles, a late-night pickup window and a covered outdoor patio. Balloons and a “we’re hiring” banner decorated the patio railing when FFXnow stopped by yesterday afternoon (Wednesday).
A Summerwood employee who was present at the site said only that an opening is expected sometime this week. She directed inquiries to the company’s corporate contacts, which didn’t respond by press time.
However, there are indications that an opening is imminent, including signs advertising a grand opening that have recently popped up along nearby streets. An office worker in the area, Mike Savino, told FFXnow that he saw a “wavy inflatable tube man flapping around” earlier this week.
Taco Bell’s website also shows operating hours for the Reston location of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for dine-in customers, starting today (Thursday). Drive-thru service also starts at 7 a.m. but ends at 2 or 4 a.m., depending on the day.
According to a Taco Bell employee in Herndon, the Reston location did actually open on Tuesday (June 3), but it has closed again with no confirmed new opening date.
Originally constructed in the 1980s, Reston’s Taco Bell is part of an unusually configured block that was known by locals as “McTacoHut” until Pizza Hut shuttered in 2019. McDonalds remains in operation, with the relatively more upscale Pupatella now rounding out the trio of fast-food eateries.
Summerwood got the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ approval to revamp Taco Bell in 2022. In addition to updating the design to match the chain’s current branding, the owner said an additional drive-thru lane was needed to accommodate an increase in customers using that service instead of eating in.
The county also approved a proposed expansion of Taco Bell’s Herndon location at 2170 Centreville Road last June.
