INDIANAPOLIS — The first Taco Bell Cantina in Indiana will open on Saturday, Dec. 23, despite a recently filed lawsuit that seeks to prevent the restaurant from opening in downtown Indianapolis.
Taco Bell Cantina promises to feature all of the brand’s signature menu items guests love in addition to new offerings exclusively available at Cantina locations including alcoholic beverages like beer, Piña Coladas, Margaritas, Orange Creamsickles and liquor versions of Taco Bell Freezes.
The grand opening event, which opens for the public at 10:30 a.m., will include a custom menu and alcohol-infused Freezes served at the restaurant’s dual-level bar. Live music will also be provided from 8 p.m. until midnight.
Taco Bell Cantina is located near Monument Circle at 24. W. Washington Street and will operate from 8 a.m. until 4 a.m. daily and even features catering options. It is the first Taco Bell Cantina in Indiana, though several others have been opened across the country including one in Las Vegas that also serves as a wedding venue.
The anticipated new Taco Bell restaurant’s opening recently was cast into doubt after a lawsuit was filed in Marion County Superior Court that sought to block Taco Bell Cantina from opening.
The lawsuit was filed by the owner of the nearby Taco Bell location within Circle Centre Mall. The franchisee argues in the lawsuit that the opening of the Taco Bell Cantina will hurt his business being that the new Cantina version of the restaurant is within one-tenth of a mile from the mall location.
Taco Bell previously told the owner that the Taco Bell Cantina was approved for the location on W. Washington Street due to the mall location being considered “captive.” The owner of the Circle Centre Mall Taco Bell argued against this label, however, claiming the “captive” location was never mentioned in his lease agreement and the opening of the Taco Bell Cantina would be a violation of the Indiana Deceptive Franchise Practices Act
The owner of the Circle Centre Mall Taco Bell also argued that his restaurant drew on nearby office buildings for customers, not just mall shoppers, and said the opening of the Taco Bell Cantina would hurt his sales.
Marion County Superior Court has not weighed in on the lawsuit as of publishing this article.
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