Nearly a decade after the first Taco Bell Cantina opened in Chicago, Downtown Los Angeles is finally getting one of its own. Diversified Restaurant Group (DRG), one of the largest Taco Bell franchisers, opened the newest Cantina on July 18 at the corner of Seventh and Flower Streets.

Los Angeles has another Taco Bell Cantina in Hollywood, which opened in 2023 and isn’t under the DRG umbrella. Other DRG-owned Cantinas include the location in Las Vegas, famous for its in-house wedding chapel, and the beachfront Pacifica Taco Bell in Northern California, widely regarded as the chain’s most beautiful location. A grand opening for the new Downtown LA location is set for 6 p.m. on July 25, and the owners are already bracing for a crowd.

According to Cantina director Isaiah Ritchie, the development process for the new location took about a year. DRG partnered with Taco Bell to design the interior, which includes homages to Los Angeles’s music scene. Electric guitars hang on brick-laden walls while televisions play a constant stream of music from Feed the Beat artists, a grant program run by Taco Bell to support up-and-coming touring musicians. A taco stained glass window completes the temple-of-chalupa ambience, casting a gentle light onto diners below. Instead of cashier stations, the new Cantina has digital kiosks where guests can order everything from a Crunchwrap Supreme to beer on tap. Orders are picked up just around the corner at a designated window.

While Taco Bell standardizes its menu across restaurants to make sure favorites like the Cheesy Gordita Crunch and soft tacos are available everywhere, what sets the Cantina concept apart is the availability of alcoholic beverages. In addition to beers on tap, the Downtown LA Cantina offers the option to spike its freezes with the choice of liquors like tequila, rum, vodka, and whiskey — once alcohol is added, the drink becomes “twisted.” The frozen Baja Blast, which glows in an artificial green-blue hue, is the most well-known, but frozen margaritas and piña coladas are also available. Most freezes are available sans liquor.

DRG chose the location for the new Cantina because of its central location to the rest of the city, and the first few days have been focused on introducing it to the neighborhood. “We’re hoping to provide an awesome experience for the community,” Ritchie says. “We’ve seen day in and day out that everybody who lives around here has been coming in and thanking us, and are excited that we’re here and to be a part of it.” He notes that the early response has been “phenomenal” with the community and other local business owners who have welcomed the Cantina to the neighborhood.

The Cantina will be open all day and into the early morning hours, starting with breakfast at 7 a.m., and remaining open until 3 a.m., prime late-night munchies territory. Alcoholic beverages stop being served at 2 a.m. Ritchie hopes that the new location will be a place that members of the local community can turn to at odd hours, or when they’re in need of an easy, affordable bite.

Though DRG also operates the Vegas Cantina, there are no plans to add a marriage package to the offerings at the Downtown LA location. Though, Ritchie says, making it happen isn’t outside the realm of possibility; anything can happen in the home of Doritos Locos tacos and Mexican Pizza. “I’m not saying we can’t figure it out, “ Ritchie says. “It won’t necessarily be on the menu, but we’re innovative and fun…if somebody really wants a rock-and-roll wedding at the Cantina, I’m sure we can make it happen.”

Taco Bell Cantina is located at 801 W. Seventh Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017, and is open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. everyday. The Downtown LA location is hosting a grand opening on Thursday, July 25; RSVPs are required.