...or at least get updated. This is the Taco Bell location on the main drag in my hometown. When I was in high school it was much smaller and very different. First, the store was originally called Taco Joe's and featured a fiberglass statue of a surfer in front. Naturally after being frequently vandalized, they gave up on the statue. The entire chain followed "Surfer Joe" to the dustbin soon thereafter. Taco Bell moved in a few months later in 1970. It was the taco stand of the future. Avacado green bricks formed an arch for the front window with an abundance of stainless steel lighted by buzzing florescent lamps inside. I think you can understand the update.
Tacos were $0.21. Bean Burritos were $0.19. It was fashionable to ask for green sauce instead of red. At that time they also had extra hot picante sauce by special request. With a medium Dr. Pepper it was a decent midnight meal for under a buck. You just couldn't eat it while driving...they still need to work on that one.
Then sometimes things disappear altogether. This Bank of the West branch is on the hallowed McDonald's site. It had the original golden arches and Mr. Hamburger sign and a tiny parking lot that held perhaps a dozen cars. It was too popular for its location. At closing time, 10 PM on weeknights, the parking lot was still choked with high school kids cruising for burgers. It's central location ensured that kids from all five high schools in town could share a common repast of greasy food. French fries - the common unifier of man!
The area fell on hard times in the mid 1980s and was declared a "disadvantaged" area in the late 1990s. In this decade the area has come back thanks to the legitimizing effect of this California based bank and a Barnes and Noble across the street on a bulldozed Mr. Donut location. Now that's progress!
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