Diversified Restaurant Group (DRG), which runs 216 Taco Bell stores in the U.S., is working with Tritium and ChargeNet to bring electric chargers to its locations. The chargers are currently being installed at one Taco Bell in San Francisco, and the companies hope to install more at other locations in the future.
The chargers, built by Tritium, will take up six spaces in the parking lot. An additional 10 spaces will be occupied by a solar array serving as a backup power source. ChargeNet is providing the software to operate the chargers. The hope is to encourage EV adoption by increasing charging availability in locations where customers feel comfortable.
“If you can put these DC [direct current] fast chargers in local proximity neighborhoods, like this is, then people feel OK, it’s safe to dip my toe in the water, not only that, I’m gonna buy an EV and I’m gonna get a charge really quickly and oh, by the way, I’m gonna get some really good Taco Bell food,” said Mike Calise, Tritium president of the Americas.