Tennessee franchisee seeks to construct new Taco Bell in Worcester

A Tennessee-based fast casual restaurant franchise operator is looking to build a new Taco Bell in Worcester.

Charter Foods is working with Auburn-based MidPoint Engineering + Construction to construct a new 2,250-square-foot restaurant at 79 Pullman St., according to a special permit application in front of the Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals.

Charter operates franchises of Yum! Brands restaurants across 13 states in the Northeast and South, according to its LinkedIn profile. This includes Taco Bell, Long John Silvers, KFC, and A&W restaurants. Charter’s existing Central Massachusetts franchises include a Taco Bell location in Marlborough.

Charter is leasing the land from Webster-based Galaxy Development, which purchased 79 Pullman St. for $470,000 in 2021, according to City of Worcester property records. 

The property was formerly the site of a building used by the Sylvan Learning tutoring company, which has since been demolished, according to the ZBA application.

The proposed site is directly across the street from the Market 32 supermarket location at 72 Pullman St. and two parcels away from The Botanist cannabis dispensary at 65 Pullman St.

The site was formerly permitted to be built as a Chipotle Mexican Grill location, but that project never materialized. It is split between ML-0.5 and MG-0.5 zoning, both of which require a special permit for a drive-thru food service use. 

Charter is seeking a special permit to allow for modifications to local rules governing drive-thru lengths; Worcester regulations require a drive-thru lane to be 240 feet, but Charter is seeking to construct a 214-foot lane.

Similar facilities generally see a queue length of five to seven vehicles, with the 214-foot lane being able to accommodate up to 10 vehicles, Charter wrote in its application.

The new Taco Bell is expected to employ 20 to 30 workers, with operating hours of 9 a.m. to 4 a.m seven days a week.

Taco Bell has Worcester locations at 463 Lincoln St., 418 Park Ave., and 801 Grafton St., part of a network of more than 9,000 restaurants across 35 countries, according to Yum! Brands. Taco Bell brought in $18.36 billion in sales in 2025.

AK Associates of Spencer provided a traffic impact study for the site. The report found the Taco Bell would create up to 58 vehicle arrivals during the Saturday lunch period, which AK projected to be the restaurant’s busiest. 

LIS Architecture + Engineering of Florida is serving as the project’s architect.

The application for the ZBA special permit is expected to be heard at its Monday meeting.

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the real estate and banking & finance industries.