New Taco Bell location planned for former Pizza Hut site in the village of Lansing

A new Taco Bell location could be arriving soon in the village of Lansing. The proposed location of the popular fast food chain, serving staples like the Crunchwrap Supreme and other dishes inspired by Mexican cuisine, would be the second in Tompkins County.

The restaurant would be located at 2301 N. Triphammer Rd., taking the space of the former Pizza Hut location that shut down in 2020. It would be managed and operated by the Hospitality Restaurant Group (HRG), which operates 101 restaurants in six states, including New York. The company has offices in the Syracuse area.

The project was presented at the village’s planning board meeting on March 11, where HRG Director of Development Mike McCraken answered questions from board members and provided a primer on the proposed Taco Bell location. The restaurant group and consultants from Napierala Consulting, who are overseeing the project as it goes through the planning board’s site plan review, say the Lansing Taco Bell could be in operation at some point next year.

The meeting can be found in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBwK_ZhE4lo&t=4346s

The Taco Bell discussion starts around the 50-minute mark.

The proposed restaurant would be around 2,650 square feet and seat 40 people indoors.

“We have had some internal conversations about having some extra outdoor seats,” McCraken said. “This particular site seems to lend itself to it because it is not really on the main road; it is surrounded by hills. It might be a bit of a better atmosphere for outdoor seating.” 

The area was also particularly attractive to HRG, McCraken said.

“We are in the middle of a commercial district,” he added.

A big focus of more recent Taco Bell restaurant designs, McCraken said, is an extensive kitchen area that can best serve drive-thru customers at the expense of a smaller dining-in setup. McCraken said that after the COVID-19 pandemic, Taco Bell’s clientele ratio is around 85% drive-thru orders and 15% dine-in.

“We are going to have a smaller dining room and a large kitchen to offer speed, to get that service through the window quickly,” said Matt Napierala, a civil engineer with Napierala Consulting.

The parking lot will feature around 33 parking spaces, and the parcel has about an acre of surface area, McCraken said. 

A concern for HRG has been a lack of signage from other restaurants in the area. McCraken said the group has wondered if Taco Bell will be able to draw in a crowd due to the area’s hilly terrain and low visibility for signage.

Lorraine Capogrossi, a planning board member, said other restaurants in the area are very popular and that she believes Taco Bell would be new and attractive enough to be consistently busy.

“There is such a lack of eateries in the village,” she noted. “McDonalds doesn’t have a sign, and the cars are wrapped around that building.” 

HRG would also have to demolish the current Pizza Hut building.

“We are going to be looking at a complete raze of that and a whole new reconfiguration coming off the existing entry pieces to come into the site,” McCraken said. “And a reconfiguration of the parking area to have a proper queue for the drive-thru.”

The restaurant would employ about 30-35 workers. 

“We do a lot with student employment, too,” McCraken said. “It might be a nice thing for people who are looking for extra money.”

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

Town of Lansing Board of Ethics meeting notice

The town of Lansing Board of Ethics is set to meet later this month on April 25 at 6:00 pm at the Lansing Town Hall, located at 29 Auburn Rd. The board will review ethics issues.

Village of Lansing 2024-2025 public hearing

The village is finalizing its 2024-2025 budget for the June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025 cycle. 

The proposed budget is set for a public hearing April 15 at 7:35 p.m. at the village town hall at 2405 N. Triphammer Rd. 

The current proposal is to keep the tax rate the same as last year, at $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Planned DPW projects include the resurfacing of the greenway trails throughout some of the village.