Taco Bell

150px
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Fast Food
Founded	Downey, California (March 21, 1962)
Headquarters	Irvine, California, U.S.
Number of locations	6,446 restaurants (2009)[1]
Key people	Glen Bell, Founder Greg Creed, President, CEO
Products	Tacos, burritos, and other Tex-Mex cuisine-related fast food
Revenue	$1.9 billion (2009)[1]
Employees	175,000+
Parent	Yum! Brands
Website	tacobell.com

Taco Bell's original restaurant design with its first logo sign in Wausau, Wisconsin. Demolished May 5, 2010.

A Taco Bell restaurant design that was popular in the 1980s and 1990s, and remains the most common design today.

Taco Bell's current restaurant design introduced in the 2000s.

Taco Bell is an American chain of fast-food restaurants based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., it serves American-adapted Mexican food. Taco Bell serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, other specialty items, and a variety of "Value Menu" items. Taco Bell serves more than 2 billion consumers each year in more than 5,800 restaurants in the U.S., more than 80 percent of which are owned and operated by independent franchisees.

History[link]

Founding and growth[link]

Taco Bell was founded by Glen Bell who first opened a hot dog stand called Bell’s Drive-In in San Bernardino, California in 1946 when he was 23 years old. Six years later, he sold the stand and opened a new one two years later, this time selling tacos under the name of Taco-Tia. Over the next few years Bell owned and operated a number of restaurants in southern California including four called El Taco. Bell sold the El Tacos to his partner and built the first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962. In 1962, he sold Taco-Tia.^[2] Kermit Becky, a former Los Angeles police officer, bought the first Taco Bell franchise from Glen Bell in 1964^{[citation needed]} (with a little encouragement from another L.A. police officer Joseph Charles Zeller^{[citation needed]}), and located it in Torrance. The company grew rapidly, and by 1967, the 100th restaurant opened at 400 South Brookhurst in Anaheim. In 1970, Taco Bell went public with 325 restaurants. In 1978, PepsiCo purchased Taco Bell from Glen Bell.^[3]

Concepts[link]

A co-branded KFC-Taco Bell in Oscoda, Michigan

In 1991, Taco Bell opened the first Taco Bell Express in San Francisco. This concept is a reduced-size restaurant with a limited menu (primarily items priced under $1), meant to emphasize volume.^[4] Taco Bell Express locations operate primarily inside convenience stores, truck stops, shopping malls, and airports.

Taco Bell began co-branding with KFC in 1995, when the first such co-brand opened in Clayton, North Carolina.^[5] The chain has since co-branded with Pizza Hut^[6] and Long John Silver's as well.

Dispute with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers[link]

In March 2005, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) won a landmark victory in its national boycott of Taco Bell for human rights. Taco Bell agreed to meet all of the coalition's demands to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers in its supply chain.^[7]

After four years of a tenacious and growing boycott, Taco Bell and Yum! Brands agreed to make an agreement called the CIW-Yum agreement with representatives of CIW at Yum! Brands headquarters.^[8] The CIW-Yum agreement set several precedents, establishing:

• The first direct, ongoing payment by a fast-food industry leader to farm workers in its supply chain to address substandard farm-labor wages (nearly doubling the percentage of the final retail price that goes to the workers who pick the produce).
• The first enforceable Code of Conduct for agricultural suppliers in the fast-food industry (which includes the CIW, a worker-based organization, as part of the investigative body for monitoring worker complaints).
• Market incentives for agricultural suppliers willing to respect their workers’ human rights, even when those rights are not guaranteed by law;
• Full transparency for Taco Bell’s tomato purchases in Florida; the agreement commits Taco Bell to buy only from Florida growers who agree to the pass-through and to document and monitor the pass-through, providing complete records of Taco Bell’s Florida tomato purchases and growers’ wage records to the CIW.^[9]

Advertising[link]

Taco Bell's headquarters in Irvine, California.

In March 2001, Taco Bell announced a promotion to coincide with the re-entry of the Mir space station. They towed a large target out into the Pacific Ocean, announcing that if the target was hit by a falling piece of Mir, every person in the United States would be entitled to a free Taco Bell taco. The company bought a sizable insurance policy for this gamble.^[10] No piece of the station struck the target.

In 2004, a local Taco Bell franchisee bought the naming rights to the Boise State Pavilion in Boise, Idaho and renamed the stadium Taco Bell Arena.^[11]

In 2007, Taco Bell offered the "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion—if any player from either team stole a base in the 2007 World Series the company would give away free tacos to everyone in the United States in a campaign similar to the Mir promotion, albeit with a much higher likelihood of being realized.^[12] After Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox stole a base in Game 2, the company paid out this promotion on October 30, 2007. This promotion was used again in the 2008 World Series, when Jason Bartlett of the Tampa Bay Rays stole a base during Game 1 at Tropicana Field, which was paid out on October 28, 2008.^[13]

Taco Bell sponsors a promotion at home games for both the Portland Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers in which everyone in attendance receives a coupon for a free Chalupa if the home team scores 100 points or more.^[14][15]

In 2009, Taco Bell introduced a music video style commercial entitled, "It's all about the Roosevelts" composed and produced by Danny de Matos at his studio for Amber Music on behalf of DraftFCB Agency. Featuring Varsity Fanclub's Bobby Edner, the rap music style commercial shows a group of friends gathering change as they drive toward Taco Bell. The commercial represents Taco Bell's first foray into movie theater advertising, featuring the ad during the opening previews of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Public Enemies as well as screens in some movie theater lobbies.^[16]

On July 1, 2009, Taco Bell has replaced 20-year sponsor McDonald's as the fast food partner of the NBA. Taco Bell and the NBA agreed on a 4 year deal allowing them to advertise on ABC, TNT and ESPN, and NBA-themed promotions. ^[17]

Infomercial salesman Billy Mays signed a deal in June 2009 to shoot infomercial-style commercials for the chain, with filming to begin in August.^{[citation needed]} His unexpected death from a heart attack on June 28, 2009 canceled those plans.

On July 21, 2009, Gidget, the Chihuahua featured in Taco Bell ads in the late 1990s, was euthanized after suffering a stroke.^[18] She was 15 years old.

2009 commercials for the "Frutista Freeze" frozen drink feature Snowball, an Eleonora Cockatoo noted for his ability to dance to human music.^[19]

In an effort to promote its $2 Meal Deals, Taco Bell started a Facebook group in June 2010 to collect signatures on a petition that appeals to the Federal Reserve to produce more two-dollar bills.^[20]

A large advertising push by Taco Bell was begun in late February 2011 in response to a consumer protection lawsuit filed against the company by an Alabama law firm. The promotion sought to counter allegations that the company falsely advertised the ratio of ingredients of its beef filling for its tacos. The spots featured employees and franchisees stating that the filling has always been a mixture of 88% beef and various spices and binders and nothing else. The ad followed several full page print ads in the New York Times and other newspapers that featured the headline "Thank you for suing us."^[21] Additionally, the chain added a new social campaign using Twitter and Facebook. The company invested heavily in the campaign, spending more than $3 million (USD) putting out its message - about 20 percent more than the company usually spends on an advertising program. The various campaigns came shortly before the company began its official response to the suit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California and were designed to bring public opinion into their camp. Various analysts stated that the company would have been better off using a grass-root campaign that involved in store advertising and other non-broadcast media.^[22] The suit was eventually withdrawn,^[23] and the company continued its advertising response by publicly requesting an apology from the suing firm of Beasly Allen. Analyst Laura Ries, of marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries, stated she believed Taco Bell's latest response was a mistake. She went on to comment that reviving memories of a suit that the majority of the public had forgotten after the initial burst of publicity, commenting "when you run these ads defending, defending, defending, sometimes people think, 'Well, wait a minute, why are they trying so hard to defend themselves?'".^[23]

In the spring of 2012 Taco Bell teamed up with Frito Lay and created the Doritos Locos Tacos, which is a supreme taco with a Nacho Cheesier Dorito taco shell and coming later in the fall of 2012 a Cool Ranch taco shell.^[24]

Outside the United States[link]

Australia[link]

Taco Bell first opened in Australia in September 1981, but Taco Bell was ordered to change its name after the owner of a local restaurant successfully sued Taco Bell for misleading conduct.^[25] The local restaurant was called "Taco Bell's Casa" and had been operating in Australia since the 1970s. The owner successfully argued that Sydneysiders would confuse the takeaway chain with his restaurant, and this would damage his reputation. Taco Bell later opened in 1997 in Australia with a store in the cinema district on George St in Sydney and a year later in 1998 within a few KFC stores in the state of New South Wales, but by 2005, the Taco Bell brand was pulled out of the country.

Canada[link]

Taco Bell has been present in Canada since 1981, with the first store opening in Windsor, Ontario. On March 31, 2011 Priszm, owner of Taco Bell (Canada), went into bankruptcy protection in Ontario and British Columbia.^[26] On May 6, 2011, Priszm Income Fund was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange for failure to meet the continued listing requirements.^[27]

China[link]

In 2003, Yum! Brands introduced the Taco Bell brand into People's Republic of China. The Chinese Taco Bell restaurants were not fast-food restaurants like other Taco Bells. Instead, they were full-service restaurants called Taco Bell Grande that are more analogous to a Mexican grill in the United States. In addition to the usual taco and burritos, Taco Bell Grande also served other Mexican cuisine like albóndigas (meatball soup), tomatillo grilled chicken, fajitas, and alcoholic drinks such as Margaritas. The chain had operated three restaurants in China, two in Shenzhen and one in Shanghai. However, the Shanghai location closed at the end of January 2008.^[28] One location in Shenzhen closed on February 20, 2008; the second location followed shortly after, closing on March 5, 2008.^[29]

Cyprus[link]

Taco Bell in Cyprus

A Taco Bell opened in Cyprus in December 2009 in Limassol at the MY MALL Limassol. Further restaurants are planned to be opened within the next 18 months (probably also in Cyprus' capital Nicosia).^[30]

Greece[link]

Greece's first Taco Bell opened in Athens upon the grand opening of the newly constructed Athens Metro Mall on November 30, 2010.^[31][32]

Iceland[link]

Taco Bell in Iceland is operated as a part of the KFC establishment in Hafnarfjörður, suburb of Reykjavík. It was established in late 2006, after the departure of the U.S. Navy from Naval Air Station Keflavik. A second location opened in the Ártúnshöfði part of Reykjavik in November 2008.^[33] The Ártúnshöfði location is now closed, and replaced by a new location in the nearby area of Grafarholt (together with KFC). (update 07/2011)

India[link]

India's first Taco Bell outlet opened at the Mantri Square mall, Bangalore.^[34] Another outlet at the Gopalan Mall, Bangalore opened in February 2011.

Mexico[link]

Taco Bell has attempted to enter the Mexican market twice. After a highly-publicised launch in Mexico City in 1992, all the restaurants were closed two years later. In September 2007, Taco Bell returned to Monterrey, this time promoting itself as selling "authentic American food," but closed in January 2010 due to low patronage.^[35][36][37]

Philippines[link]

Taco Bell opened its first Philippine branch on October 30, 2004 at the Gateway Mall in Cubao, Quezon City. They now have one on the ground floor and one on the fourth floor in the food court at the Gateway Mall. They have also added another branch at the TriNoma mall in Quezon City. In November 2010, Taco bell will open its fourth branch at SM Seaside City Cebu at Cebu City on 2013.^{[38][dated info]}

Poland[link]

The first Polish Taco Bell store was opened in 1993. Following an aggressive campaign of expansion, Taco Bell's efforts soon withered, and the chain withdrew from Poland shortly thereafter.

Singapore[link]

Taco Bell in Singapore existed for a number of years, mostly as combination stores with KFC such as the one that operated at the Funan Digital Life Mall, but in 2008, Taco Bell completely pulled out of Singapore.^[39]

Spain[link]

The first Taco Bell in Spain was opened at Naval Station Rota in 2004 and is available only to those authorized to access the naval base.^[40] The first Taco Bell for the general public was opened in the Islazul Shopping Mall, Madrid, in December 2008.^[41] Yum! Brands announced that it would open additional restaurants in Spain in early 2009 as part of a test trial for the European market.^[42][43] A second location has now opened at the La Vaguada Shopping Mall, Madrid (03/2010). Another location recently opened at the Plaza Mayor shopping mall in Malaga, Spain.

South Korea[link]

There are currently two locations in Seoul, in the Itaewon and Hongdae districts, which attract the most foreigners and college students. The two branches opened in the summer of 2010, Itaewon's branch coming first. A Taco Bell had long been a presence at the U.S. Army's Yongsan Garrison, which is off-limits to non-military people, and for a time there was a tongue-in-cheek grassroots campaign by non-Korean, non-military foreigners in Seoul to get another Taco Bell location.^[44]

United Arab Emirates[link]

A Taco Bell opened in the United Arab Emirates in November 2008 in Dubai (home of the Burj Khalifa) at the Dubai Mall.^[45]

Two more locations were opened at Mirdif City Centre and Deira City Centre in 2010.^{[citation needed]} A fourth UAE location was also planned for Bawadi Mall in the city of Al Ain.

As of February 2012, the locations at Dubai Mall, Deira City Centre, and Mirdif City Centre have all closed.

United Kingdom[link]

The United Kingdom was the first European country with a Taco Bell, although it remains extremely difficult for UK inhabitants to patronise a store.^{[citation needed]} In 1986, a location was opened in London on Coventry Street (between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus) followed by a second location in Earls Court near the Earl's Court tube station. One other store opened in Uxbridge but all closed in the mid 1990s.^[46] In 1994, the university food provider Compass announced plans to open stores in its university and college sites. However, only one store was opened in Birmingham University, no other stores were opened, and the Birmingham site is now closed.^[47][48] There are 2 Taco Bell sites in the UK in operation at the Strategic Air Command and United States Air Force bases at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, but, commensurate with existing security controls, access is restricted to relevant service personnel.^[49]

Yum! Brands announced that it is considering reopening Taco Bell locations in the United Kingdom as part of a large planned expansion into Europe, with trial outlets opening first in Spain in early 2009. Yum! is taking advantage of the recent recession which led to increasing sales at other fast food outlets; it also said that there is now a greater awareness of Mexican food in the UK and that it can be successful with improved menu offerings and marketing.^[42][43] The first new store opened at the Lakeside Shopping Centre on June 28, 2010.^[50] Taco Bell opened a second store in Basildon on November 29, 2010 and the third in the Manchester Arndale on November 7, 2011.

Other countries[link]

Taco Bell is also present in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guam, Aruba, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama and on AAFES military bases in Japan, Germany, Iraq, Guatemala,^[51] and El Salvador.^[52]

See also[link]

	Los Angeles portal
	Companies portal
	Food portal

• Priszm
• Taco Bell chihuahua
• Enchirito

Notes[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (May 2012)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Taco Bell

• Official site
• Official UK site
• Taco Bell Wiki: A Taco Bell Wiki

Carnitas tacos as served in East Los Angeles, California, United States.

Barbacoa tacos.

A taco ( /ˈtɑːkoʊ/) is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety. A taco is generally eaten without utensils and is often accompanied by garnishes such as salsa, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes, minced meat, onions and lettuce.

Etymology[link]

According to the Real Academia Española, publisher of Diccionario de la Lengua Española, the word taco describes a typical Mexican dish of a maize tortilla folded around food ("Tortilla de maíz enrollada con algún alimento dentro, típica de México"). The original sense of the word is of a "plug" or "wad" used to fill a hole ("Pedazo de madera, metal u otra materia, corto y grueso, que se encaja en algún hueco").^[1] The Online Etymological Dictionary defines taco as a "tortilla filled with spiced meat" and describes its etymology as derived from Mexican Spanish, "light lunch," literally, "plug, wadding."^[2] The sense development from "plug" may have taken place among Mexican silver miners, who used explosive charges in plug form consisting of a paper wrapper and gunpowder filling.^[3]

History[link]

The taco predates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico. There is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish. Writing at the time of the Spanish conquistadors, Bernal Díaz del Castillo documented the first taco feast enjoyed by Europeans, a meal which Hernán Cortés arranged for his captains in Coyoacán.^[4][5] It is not clear why the Spanish used their word, "taco", to describe this indigenous food.

Traditional tacos[link]

Adobada meat for tacos al pastor, carved to order.

Grilled shrimp taco.

There are many traditional varieties of tacos:

• Tacos de Asador ("spit" or "grill" tacos) may be composed of any of the following: carne asada tacos; tacos de tripita ("tripe tacos"), grilled until crisp; and, chorizo asado (traditional Spanish style sausage). Each type is served on two overlapped small tortillas and sometimes garnished with guacamole, salsa, onions, and cilantro. Also prepared on the grill is a sandwiched taco called mulita ("little mule") made with meat served between two tortillas and garnished with Oaxaca style cheese. "Mulita" is used to describe these types of sandwiched tacos in the Northern States of Mexico, while they are known as Gringa in the Mexican south and are prepared using wheat flour tortillas. Tacos may also be served with salsa.^[6][7]
• Tacos de Cabeza or head tacos, in which there is a flat punctured metal plate from which steam emerges to cook the head of the cow. These include: Cabeza, a serving of the muscles of the head; Sesos ("brains"); Lengua ("tongue"); Cachete ("cheeks"); Trompa ("lips"); and, Ojo ("eye"). Tortillas for these tacos are warmed on the same steaming plate for a different consistency. These tacos are typically served in pairs, and also include salsa, onion and cilantro with occasional use of guacamole.^[6][7]
• Tacos de Cazo for which a metal bowl filled with lard is typically used as a deep-fryer. Meats for these types of tacos typically include: Tripa ("tripe", usually from a pig instead of a cow); Suadero (tender beef cuts), Carnitas and Buche (Literally, "crop", as in bird's crop; here, it is fried pig's esophagus.^[8])^[6][7]
• Tacos sudados ("sweaty tacos") are made by filling soft tortillas with a spicy meat mixture, then placing them in a basket covered with cloth. The covering keeps the tacos warm and traps steam ("sweat") which softens them.^[6][9]

Tacos de suadero (grey) and chorizo (red).

• Tacos Al pastor/De Adobada ("shepherd style") are made of thin pork steaks seasoned with adobo seasoning, then skewered and overlapped on one another on a vertical rotisserie cooked and flame-broiled as it spins (analogous to the Döner kebab used in Greek restaurants to prepare gyros).^[6][7]
• Tacos dorados (fried tacos, literally, "golden tacos") called flautas ("flute", because of the shape), or taquitos, for which the tortillas are filled with pre-cooked shredded chicken, beef or barbacoa, rolled into an elongated cylinder and deep-fried until crisp. They are sometimes cooked in a microwave oven or broiled.^[6][7]
• Tacos de pescado ("fish tacos") originated in Baja California in Mexico, where they consist of grilled or fried fish, lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla. In the United States, they remain most popular in California, Colorado, and Washington. In California, they are often found at street vendors, and a regional variation is to serve them with cabbage and coleslaw dressing on top.^[6][7]
• Tacos de camarones ("shrimp tacos") also originated in Baja California in Mexico. Grilled or fried shrimp are used, usually with the same accompaniments as fish tacos: lettuce or cabbage, pico de gallo, avocado and a sour cream or citrus/mayonnaise sauce, all placed on top of a corn or flour tortilla.^[6][7][10]

As an accompaniment to tacos, many taco stands will serve whole or sliced red radishes, lime slices, salt, pickled or grilled chilis (hot peppers), and occasionally cucumber slices, or grilled cambray onions.

United States and Canada[link]

Hard-shell taco, made with a prefabricated shell.

Hard-shell tacos[link]

Beginning from the early part of the twentieth century, various styles of tacos have become popular in the United States and Canada.^[11] The style that has become most common is the hard-shell, U-shaped version first described in a cookbook, The good life: New Mexican food, authored by Fabiola Cabeza de Vaca Gilbert and published in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1949.^[12] These have been sold by restaurants and by fast food chains. Even non-Mexican oriented fast food restaurants have sold tacos. Mass production of this type of taco was encouraged by the invention of devices to hold the tortillas in the U-shape as they were deep-fried. A patent for such a device was issued to New York restaurateur Juvenico Maldonado in 1950, based on his patent filing of 1947 (U.S. Patent No. 2,506,305).^[13][14] Such tacos are crisp-fried corn tortillas filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese, lettuce, and sometimes tomato, onion, salsa, sour cream, and avocado or guacamole.^[15]

Soft-shell tacos[link]

Traditionally, soft-shelled tacos referred to corn tortillas that were cooked to a softer state than a hard taco - usually by grilling or steaming. More recently the term has come to include flour tortilla based tacos mostly from large manufacturers and restaurant chains. In this context, soft tacos are tacos made with wheat flour tortillas and filled with the same ingredients as a hard taco.^[16]

Puffy tacos, taco kits, breakfast tacos and tacodillas[link]

Since at least 1978, a variation called the "puffy taco" has been popular. Henry's Puffy Tacos, opened by Henry Lopez in San Antonio, Texas, claims to have invented the variation, in which uncooked corn tortillas (flattened balls of masa dough^[17]) are quickly fried in hot oil until they expand and become "puffy".^[18][19] Fillings are similar to hard-shell versions. Restaurants offering this style of taco have since appeared in other Texas cities, as well as in California, where Henry's brother, Arturo Lopez, opened Arturo's Puffy Taco in Whittier, not long after Henry's opened.^[20][21] Henry's continues to thrive, managed by the family's second generation.^[18]

Kits are available at grocery and convenience stores and usually consist of taco shells (corn tortillas already fried in a U-shape), seasoning mix and taco sauce. Commercial vendors for the home market also market soft taco kits with tortillas instead of taco shells.^[22][23]

The breakfast taco, found in Tex-Mex cuisine, is filled with meat, eggs, or cheese, with other ingredients.^[24]

The tacodilla contains melted cheese in between the two folded tortillas, thus resembling a quesadilla.^[25]

Indian tacos[link]

Frybread taco

Indian tacos, sometimes known as Navajo tacos but served in various parts of the American West and Midwest, are made using frybread instead of tortillas. They are commonly served at pow-wows, festivals, and other gatherings.^[26]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Taco Recipe Low sodium recipe to make beef tacos.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Taco

Look up taco in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Look up Bell or bell in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Bell may refer to:

Sound and music[link]

• Bell (instrument), a percussion instrument, usually cup-shaped
• Bell (wind instrument)
• Bell cymbal, a type of cymbal, tending to be thick and uniformly so, and small
• Cymbal bell, the most central part of a cymbal
• Bell effect, a musical technique

Signals[link]

• Bell (school), a signal used for transitions during a school day
• Church bell, indicating when to go to church
• Doorbell, a signaling device to alert residents to visitors
• Division bell, used in a parliament to call members to a vote
• Last call bell, a signal that a bar is closing soon
• Ship's bell, a signal for marking time on a ship
• A signal from an engine order telegraph, a communications device used on a ship or submarine

Businesses[link]

Telecommunications[link]

• Bell Canada, a Canadian telecommunications company
• Bell Mobility, a wireless network selling services in Canada
• Bell Aliant, a communications company providing services in eastern Canada
• Bell System, the organization that provided telephone service in the United States until 1984
• Bell Telephone Company, founded in 1877 by family of Alexander Graham Bell
• Illinois Bell, the name of the Bell Operating Company serving Illinois
• Indiana Bell, the Bell Operating Company serving Indiana
• Michigan Bell, the subsidiary of AT&T serving the state of Michigan
• Nevada Bell, the Bell System's telephone provider in Nevada
• New Jersey Bell, (1904–1983)
• Ohio Bell, the Bell Operating Company serving most of Ohio
• Pacific Bell, the name of the Bell System's telephone operations in California
• Regional Bell Operating Company, any of the phone companies spun-off from AT&T in 1984
• Wisconsin Bell, (1984–1999)
• Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell

Other[link]

• Bell Labs, a research & development organization founded by AT&T
• Bell TV, a division of Bell Canada
• Bell Aircraft, an aircraft manufacturer of the United States
• Bell Helicopter, an American rotorcraft manufacturer headquartered in Hurst, Texas
• Bell Media, a Canadian media company, operated by Bell Canada
• Bell Records, a record label
• Bell Sports Inc., a helmet manufacturer
• Bell's Brewery, based in Michigan

Transportation[link]

• Bell (cyclecar), a British 3 wheeled cyclecar made in 1920 by W.G. Bell of Rochester, Kent
• Bell (METRORail station), Houston, Texas, United States
• Bell railway station, Melbourne, Australia
• Bell railway station, New South Wales, Australia
• USS Bell, either of two U.S. Navy ships
• Bell tailslide, an aerobatic maneuver

Places[link]

Australia[link]

• Bell, New South Wales
• Bell, Queensland

Canada[link]

• Bell Island, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Bell Peninsula, Nunavut

Germany[link]

• Bell, Mayen-Koblenz, a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
• Bell, Rhein-Hunsrück, an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Uganda[link]

• Port Bell, Lake Victoria

United Kingdom[link]

• Bell End

United States[link]

• Bell, California
• Bell, Florida
• Bell, Illinois
• Bell, Oklahoma
• Bell, Wisconsin
• Bell Canyon, California
• Bell City, Missouri
• Bell County, Kentucky
• Bell County, Texas
• Bell Township, Pennsylvania (disambiguation)
• Bell Creek (disambiguation)
• Bell Mountain AVA, Texas wine region in Gillespie County
• Bell Mountain Wilderness, in 1980