Newfoundland traffic jams and jalapeno wine from Niagara: A short history of Taco Bell in Canada

In response, the fast-food brand recently opened new locations from coast-to-coast, added menu options unique to Canada, and imported items from across the border that customers have been clamouring for such as Diablo sauce and the Quesarito.

“We’re trying to listen to our consumer, and quite frankly, the consumers have been asking us to do more, and go further than we had,” Shaw says. “They’re telling us what they want more of, and that what works in other places can work here.”

After earning an economics degree from UC Irvine, the Southern-Californian started his career with local burger franchise In-N-Out before moving to Taco Bell less than three years later, in 1999. Shaw has worked for Taco Bell or its parent company, Yum! Brands, ever since.

The California-based, Mexican-inspired fast-food chain was founded in 1962 and opened its first Canadian location in Windsor, Ont., in 1979. 

Until recently, however, Canadian locations were largely shared with fellow Yum! Brands staple KFC, or limited to more cafeteria-style establishments, like food courts. Certain popular menu items were also missing on this side of the border, and many owners of Canadian franchise groups were based elsewhere.

Since his appointment as Canadian country manager in 2018, Shaw says he’s put local franchises in the hands of local owners, increased the number of stand-alone stores, and responded to menu requests from local consumers.

Taco Bell opened its first stand-alone location in Vancouver last April, while its first in Newfoundland proved so popular it sparked a residents’ traffic court case against the city of Mount Pearl (later dropped) over road congestion after opening in December.

In all, the company launched 11 new locations in Canada in 2025, achieving a record-setting $200 million in sales.

Today, there are more than 170 Taco Bell locations in Canada, roughly half of which are shared with KFC.

 “We definitely feel that that we’ve got a lot of runway to grow in Canada,” says Shaw. “In the next five years I’d be disappointed if we don’t see a doubling of growth.”

The Star spoke with Shaw during his visit to Toronto about the brand’s rapid expansion in Canada, the new menu items Canadians have been asking for, and perhaps the collaboration-heavy brand’s strangest partnership — a Niagara-based winery.

How did you end up in the restaurant industry?

It was organic. I graduated from college in 1996, the economy was not great, so I was applying to a ton of jobs and happened to see a posting for In-N-Out, a burger chain headquartered right next to campus. I got in there, and I enjoyed it a lot, so it worked out.

In-N-Out is a small family-owned company, and Taco Bell was part of PepsiCo at the time, with a big global footprint. I was thinking about going to graduate school or doing something else to advance my career, but one of the directors, who had come from Taco Bell, told me that as a young kid I should go work for a big company. He introduced me to a couple of people at Taco Bell, and I made the switch in 1999.

What has kept you there?

The short answer is the people. It’s got a great culture and encourages people to grow.

I went from accounting to doing some M&A work to getting into real estate, which I had no business doing, given that I studied economics and banking.

I’d always wanted to go back to school to earn an MBA, and I got the opportunity to do that with Yum! Brands. They gave me a partial sponsorship and time to go to classes and do my assignments while working full time.

They were willing to train me, to take chances on me, and the people I worked with over the years have been great.

What was Taco Bell like back then?

When I arrived in 1999 the business was more of a regional player, and it was looking for its footing — something that would help it take off and find its voice.

Over the last number of years, the brand has determined what that voice should be based on what our consumers are looking for which helped us grow everywhere — including in Canada.

Was it the voice of a Chihuahua?

No, it was after that.

Ironically, that wasn’t the best time for the business. It got a lot of publicity and buzz, but it wasn’t until the ‘Think outside the bun’ and ‘Live Más’ mottos came through that the brand started hitting its stride. 

Had you spent much time in Canada prior to being named country manager in 2018?

My mom was born in Vancouver, and we have family there, but aside from spending summers in B.C., not on the business side of things.

What was your mandate at the time?

I was brought in to look at the business model, and how we could make it more profitable for Canadian franchise owners.

It was a growing business, but we primarily had KFC-Taco Bell combined units, and we wanted to grow the brand on its own. We had some franchise groups that were not owned by Canadians, and they were doing a good job, but we were able to hand some of those off to local owners, which has been really successful.

Most of our locations were in the GTA, but we opened our first single-brand Taco Bell in Vancouver at the beginning of last year. In December we opened in Mount Pearl, and that franchise owner is already planning a second location to alleviate demand. We also opened our first drive-through in Calgary a couple of years ago, and we’re seeing great growth in Alberta.

And then it’s about taking the best of Taco Bell from around the world and bringing it to Canada, which is what the Canadian consumers have been asking for. 

Why are there so many shared locations?

PepsiCo managed all their brands under one roof, so the international growth strategy was slow and steady. It wasn’t until the 2010s that Yum! let each of those brands operate independently, so it’s been less than ten years that Taco Bell Canada has been managed by the Taco Bell team directly.

We’ve added about 40 or 50 stand-alone Taco Bells in the last seven or eight years, but before that the focus was primarily on the combo units, which have a lot advantages, but also makes it hard to showcase either brand in their own way. 

Is that why the menu was different in Canada?

There was some caution early on, but folks were asking us to give them more of what they were seeing elsewhere.

That’s why we recently launched Diablo sauce in Canada, which has been in other markets for the last 10 years. We’re also going to do something in Canada that hasn’t been tried elsewhere, a Diablo buffalo sauce. 

How else is the menu changing?

We know that the economy is changing. Taco Bell has historically been known for providing value, but maybe not as much in Canada.

We’re really trying to bring that to Canada with the launch of our Luxe Value Menu and our Luxe Value Boxes earlier this year.

In March we hosted our second annual Live Más LIVE event, which we brought over from the U.S., where we announced 10 new innovations for this year. For example, we’re doing Crispy Chicken Nuggets, but in a uniquely Taco Bell way. It’s not just a traditional chicken sandwich, but something only we can provide.

Later this year we’re going to partner with Pepsi to bring in the new Mountain Dew Baja Midnight, and we also recently brought in the Quesarito, which was a big cult product in the United States, into Canada. 

We’re listening to the consumer and they’re telling us we shouldn’t be as cautious as maybe we’ve been in the past.

Are there any menu items Canada is exporting?

The biggest example is fries, which have been a staple in Canada for years, but are just launching in the United States. We also have the Diablo buffalo sauce, and we’ll see if other places pick that up, but we’ve tested it and talked to Canadian consumers, and we think it will resonate here.

What’s your favourite brand collaboration?

For me it’s the Doritos locos tacos, which is still one of my favourite menu items of all time.

Not the “Jalapeño Noir” wine?

The wine was definitely out there.

That was something we did with a Niagara winery, and you could only get it in Canada. We got so much buzz that our global CEO wanted to try it, but because of export restrictions he had to come up and sample it, which was really fun.

What can Canadians expect from Taco Bell in the future?

First, a lot more of our own brand identity; more of that Taco Bell ‘Live Más’ feel, and you’re going to see us in more parts of the country.

Canada is one of those areas where we expect to see incredible growth. We’ve got a real strong team here, and it’s an important market for our global leadership.