Our newest Taco Bell is now open and bustling in beautiful Oak Forest, IL! Part of what we call a “scrape and rebuild,” this new restaurant underwent a total rehab of an existing property that was formerly home to a KFC.
”We’re open, and up and running!” says Tammi Clemens, Restaurant General Manager (RGM) for the Oak Forest location. ”Our sales have been phenomenal. We’re really happy about it, very busy.”
Nestled between the woodlands of nature preserves and a national golf course, Oak Forest opened in late April. Its new building retained some of the cool original brick facade. Inside, we’re excited to continue to nurture the popular meal delivery and mobile order segments, with a pickup window exclusively for DoorDash, Uber Eats and mobile orders, after 10 pm. While the lobby closes earlier, this window, along with the door to the outside, remain open until close (1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday).
Tammi says delivery and mobile business continues to be significant. “It’s all day long, all day and all night, even late at night … till we close,” she shares. With that much traffic, efficiencies are key!
Our attention to all the ways a guest can order Taco Bell food extends back into the kitchen. Tammi says the Oak Forest restaurant has a double line with one side devoted to DoorDash and Uber Eats, mobile orders, and orders from the front counter. The other side is strictly for drive-thru traffic. This provides efficiency “so that we can keep everything in a flow and get the orders out quickly,” Tammi says.
ABOUT THE TEAM
Tammi was hired as an RGM for this location before construction was complete. She trained seven minutes away at our Crestwood, IL location until it was time to lead.
She says the transition has been seamless. And in fact, in an industry constantly trying to recruit new team members, Oak Forest has had no shortage of job applicants. Tammi says they walk in just about every day!
“I feel happy. It’s like this is my store and I’m going to take care of it. And I love my crew and it’s exciting!”
-Tammi Clemens, RGM
“We have some great people that we’ve hired,” Tammi says. Her ideal staff count is 24; Oak Forest is almost fully staffed. Check out current job openings in Illinois.
Check out the trails nearby and then stop by for your next burrito: