A Taco Bell in Montgomery, Alabama, provided Crunchwrap Supreme comfort to young people at all hours of the day or night, much like all of the chain’s worldwide locations. So when it caught fire on January 17th, it left a Double Decker Taco Supreme-shaped hole in the hearts of the town’s residents
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, and although the location was closed, no one was injured. But the people of Montgomery are mourning their 2 a.m. Quesarito runs, and soon a Facebook event began circulating — a vigil for the damaged Taco Bell.
Four days after the fire, more than a hundred people, mostly in their teens or early 20s, showed up at the closed Taco Bell site. Many were equipped with candles and Taco Bell products.
“I just gave people something to talk about other than all the negativity that’s going on right now,” Katie James, one of the event’s organizers, told the Portland Press Herald.
The vigil was held at a next door Arby’s because the Taco Bell parking lot was closed off. Local comedian Ashley Nicole Portis spoke and performed a rendition of a Taco Bell parody video she released last year.
“I’ve had a lot of memories created at Taco Bell,” Portis said. “I was a theater major and we had long, long rehearsal nights. It was extremely taxing, and you don’t always have time to eat. You miss the cafeteria, it closes early. In Montgomery, everything else closes early.”
At the end of her performance, she threw a Taco Bell Party Pack into the crowd.
As the vigil began to break up, many of the patrons headed into the Arby’s or a nearby McDonald’s for food. But nothing will fill the void of what they’ve lost.