The Original Cost Of A Taco Bell Taco Will Make You Want To Cry

With more than 8,000 restaurants across the United States, Taco Bell is the fifth largest chain in the country. Famous for its large menu of Americanized Mexican classics, as well as its vibrant and expensive marketing campaigns, the restaurant chain has pretty much become a household name since its origin in 1962.

But that hasn't always been the case. Taco Bell's humble beginnings actually started at a totally different restaurant — the Mitla Cafe in San Bernardino, California, around 1950. The chain's future founder, Glen Bell, was a regular at the cafe and was amazed at the long lines that formed outside every day with customers waiting to try the made-to-order hard shell tacos. Bell became friends with the owners, Lucia Rodriguez and her husband Vicente Montaño, who taught Bell their hard taco recipe. From there, the idea of Taco Bell was born and Glen Bell opened the first restaurant in Downey, California, in 1962.

This original location had no dine-in seating and no drive-thru. Customers would go to a walk-up window to order one of Taco Bell's five original menu items. And, as we've said, those 1962 prices will make you want to cry.

The original menu featured frijoles, tostados, chili burgers, red or green burritos, and tacos. The price? 19 cents each. Amazingly enough, with the exception of the chili burger, most of these items are still on today's Taco Bell menu, though in varied forms.

The cost, though? Over 60 years later, the cheapest thing you'll find at the chain lives on its Cravings Value Menu. For $1.19, you can purchase the cheesy roll up or the spicy potato soft taco. Most standard tacos cost somewhere between $2 and $3. You can get a basic bean burrito for under $2, and you can expect to pay more than $6 for Taco Bell's most expensive burrito — the Cantina Chicken Burrito.

Those 19 cent frijoles (black beans) now cost nearly $2 — still not a bad deal. As for the chain's famous tostada (formerly "tostado"), it remained on the menu for 60 years before being abruptly eliminated after the pandemic forced Taco Bell to revamp its menu. The chain brought it back briefly in 2024 during its nostalgic "Taco Bell Through the Decades" promotion — continuing a recent trend of fast food rereleases. The tostada — which sold for $2.19 — featured a crispy corn tostada shell, layered with refried beans, red sauce, lettuce, and shredded cheese. Those 19 cent prices are long gone, but it's good to know you can still enjoy most of those same items in many different variations. And as for Taco Bell's inspiration — the Mitla Cafe? You can still visit it in San Bernardino and try the same authentic Mexican food the Rodriguez family has been serving since 1937.