Applegreen to open Ireland’s first Taco Bell

Applegreen has announced it will open Ireland’s first Taco Bell restaurant in September as part of a €15m (£12.9m) motorway service area development at Junction 6 on the M3 in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.

The project will create more than 100 jobs and includes a range of food and retail outlets, such as a Marks and Spencer Food shop-in-shop, a Braeburn Coffee Café, Burger King, and Applegreen’s new deli concept, Crafted.

The service area will also feature a convenience store, a fuel forecourt, and eight ultra-fast electric vehicle charging points capable of speeds up to 400kW. More chargers are planned, subject to power availability.

Seamus Stapleton, managing director for the Republic of Ireland at Applegreen, said: “We’re delighted to confirm today that Ireland’s first Taco Bell will be located at Applegreen’s new motorway service area on the M3 at Dunshaughlin and it will open in September. We plan to open several additional Taco Bell restaurants at our Irish locations over the next five years.”

Taco Bell Europe’s new market lead, Matthew Johnson, said partnering with Applegreen would help grow the brand’s footprint in Europe and support its global ambitions.

The Dunshaughlin project is Applegreen’s largest single investment in Ireland this year and forms part of the company’s €1bn (£860m) growth strategy across Ireland, the UK and the United States.

Stapleton added: “This is a very significant addition to the Applegreen network in Ireland, as we’re opening a state-of-the-art new facility on the M3, which up until now didn’t have a dedicated services option.”

Applegreen has also opened six new Braeburn Coffee Cafés this year and will continue investing in the brand.