Praise be.
Credit: Jesse Scott
Rejoice, late-night burrito believers. Taco Bell will rise once again at 593 E. Oakland Park Blvd.
During a site visit on Friday, August 28, Browardist found the former Taco Bell reduced to an active construction zone. Workers at the property told us a new Taco Bell is coming and will look different from its predecessor. Employees next door at Advance Auto Parts independently confirmed the comeback, too.
So, no, Broward County is not getting another kava bar... at least in this space.
The reconstruction has actually been cooking since 2024. According to an Oakland Park development report, Taco Bell proposed demolishing the former 2,474-square-foot restaurant and replacing it with a smaller, 2,187-square-foot building. The application arrived June 4, 2024, following a neighborhood meeting that April.
According to Oakland Park City Commission minutes, commissioners approved a conditional use for the restaurant’s double drive-through by a 4-0 vote on October 16, 2024. One commissioner was absent – how dare they.
Plans call for reduced indoor seating, outdoor tables, a walk-up window and a larger kitchen. The building will also be raised nearly one foot for flood protection. Taco Bell must remove its panel from the shared Advance Auto Parts pole sign, raise the masonry wall along the property’s northern boundary and add bicycle parking.
At the 2024 commission meeting, the applicant’s representative estimated construction would require four to six months, depending on weather. That was a construction-duration estimate, however, and not a promised reopening window. The approved planning record does not identify a demolition date, construction start date or grand-opening date.
The official Taco Bell website still lists the Oakland Park address but provides no reopening details. Browardist contacted Taco Bell’s media relations team but did not receive a response by our very tight deadline. We will gladly update hungry readers when the Bell rings back.
Without this restaurant, diners east of I-95 face a substantial Taco Bell desert between 357 W. Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach and the Taco Bell Cantina at Beach Place in Fort Lauderdale.
