I’m sure many of you have realized, just as I have realized, that something paramount is missing in Dinkytown. We have a plethora of food options in Dinkytown, all manner of variety. We have a plentiful pallet of different cuisines from different cultures. We have Korean fried food places, New York style pizzas and Philadelphia cheese steaks. We have a slew of breakfast places or options for lunch and dinner. We have healthy and refreshing restaurants, such as Crisp and Green and now Sweetgreen. We have affordable restaurants and we have spendier restaurants such as Alma within a few blocks of Dinkytown. We have sit down restaurants and fast food places, and while we do have a few Mexican restaurants.

Dinkytown needs a Taco Bell. 

I’m sure many of you are initially wondering where we’d place a Taco Bell, considering how limited space in Dinkytown is already. For many months now, the Ichido Ramen that stood adjacent to Cane’s has remained empty. The space be the home of a new Taco Bell. This would be an incredible location.

While there was a Taco Bell adjacent West Bank, it has shut down. Now, the next closest location for our Taco Bell needs is near the Quarry, north of Como. This is untenable. The next closest Taco Bell cannot simply be walked to nor is it convenient to grab lunch during the school day.

Taco Bell placed in the abandoned Ichido Ramen building would be close and accessible. Not only would it be placed next to high foot traffic areas of campus, but several bus stops utilized by campus and metro buses alike would be able to deliver people conveniently from West Bank or St. Paul campus.

Finally, this location fills a missing niche in Dinkytown – cheap and fast burritos and tacos alike. This location is far enough away from other emplaced Mexican restaurants, that cater at higher prices in more sit-down capacities, to avoid possible competition or friction from them.

Perhaps there are still naysayers in the crowd. While I’m sure a variety of beloved options could be placed in the defunct Ichido Ramen, I would ask what option could be better given the location and demographic?

We already have two chicken oriented place, Cane’s and Chick-fil-A. We have two healthy salad type places, Crisp and Green and Sweetgreen. We have a variety of dessert places such as Mango Mango and Insomnia cookies. What we sorely lack is the Mexican inspired, affordable, and fast food of a Taco Bell.

We know that Taco Bell is popular, why gamble with other possibilities? In addition to these reasons, Taco Bell would provide a convenient location for students to work, providing economic benefits to students and the area alike.

Consider environmental reasons. Oftentimes the Taco Bell located north of Como is backed up with vehicles. This is on top of the fact that a vehicle is needed in practice at all to reach that lone Taco Bell. A Taco Bell on foot would cut down on vehicle use and provide a walkable location for those in need of a crunchwrap.

We must look at possible avenues of having our dream come to fruition. Possible options include an ambitious student taking it upon themselves to open a franchise. Other collective options could include petitions to the university or to Taco Bell corporate. This article will hopefully galvanize and unify the individual consciousnesses that crave Taco Bell and act as a beacon to bring awareness to our hopes.