Soon, you may be able to get your Taco Bell and your beer all in one location in Wicker Park.
The new location, at 1439 N. Milwaukee Ave., opens this summer with beer, wine and mixed alcohol drinks on the menu.
"Our franchisee is ensuring that alcohol is served responsibly by requiring that all team members be trained to National Restaurant Association Guidelines and by hiring a third party secret shopper vendor to monitor alcohol sales," a company spokeswoman told NBC Chicago. "Alcohol consumption will be restricted to inside the restaurant, and a new cup design will distinguish between non-alcohol and regular beverages."
The Chicago location will be the first ever to serve alcoholic beverages.
There were rumors that the Wicker Park location would be made into the second U.S. Taco Co., an upscale Taco Bell restaurant in Huntington Beach, Calif., that serves tacos with high-quality ingredients like grilled mahi mahi, lobster and grilled manchego cheese. A spokesperson for Yum! Brands, which owns Taco Bell, told Eater that the restaurant would not be a U.S. Taco Co., however.
The new location will have some taco-friendly neighbors, like Big Star, Flash Taco and Antique Taco. It's likely that serving alcohol will allow the chain to better compete with the independently owned restaurants that surround it.
The spokeswoman, Ashley Sioson, did not have an exact opening date for the new location.
