Taco Bell Opens Three Coffee-Focused Live Más Cafés in Inland Empire

Taco Bell has opened three Live Más Café locations across the Inland Empire, expanding a beverage-focused format that emphasizes handcrafted drinks and linger-friendly interiors. The cafés launched at 220 W. Ontario Ave. in Corona on Nov. 4, 1420 University Ave. in Riverside on Nov. 5, and 9709 Base Line Road in Rancho Cucamonga on Nov. 11, Raincrossgazette reported.

The Live Más Café concept builds on Taco Bell’s 2012 slogan Live Más, or "Live More" in Spanish, which the brand used to position food as an experience. The new Inland Empire sites are described as beverage-forward and coffee-focused, with redesigned interiors intended to encourage customers to stay and enjoy drinks rather than treat visits as quick takeout stops.

Specially trained employees, called Bellristas, will prepare a menu of handcrafted beverages including churro-topped frozen drinks, fruit-flavored agua frescas, Mexican mochas and dirty sodas. Dirty sodas are presented as carbonated drinks mixed with cream and flavored syrups. Each location staged opening celebrations with games, giveaways and free samples to draw initial traffic.

Diversified Restaurant Group, the franchise owner behind the openings, operates more than 360 Taco Bell and Arby's restaurants across multiple states and said it plans further rollouts in the region. "Live Más Café is elevating the quick service restaurant experience with an amazing Mexican-inspired beverage platform that accompanies the great products customers crave at Taco Bell," said SG Ellison, CEO and president of Diversified Restaurant Group. DRG has listed additional Live Más Café targets in 2025 that include Eastvale, Hemet, La Cañada, Lake Forest, Lancaster, Newhall, Pasadena, Temecula and Yorba Linda.

The café format was tested in Chula Vista last year before expanding to other Southern California cities. Local social media picked up the openings, with one Instagram post calling attention to the new spots: "Attention Inland Empire Coffee lovers and taco enthusiast. Taco Bell just opened up three brand new coffee focused cafes right here in the IE."

For workers, the Live Más Café rollout introduces new front-of-house roles and training demands. Bellristas add a beverage-specialist skill set to typical quick-service tasks, which can mean additional onboarding time, new scheduling considerations and potential career-path differentiation for employees interested in beverage service. Longer customer dwell times in redesigned cafés may change staffing patterns during daytime and evening shifts compared with standard Taco Bell locations.

Separately, Taco Bell’s brand expansion is visible abroad through a partnership with Applegreen in Ireland, where company leaders described a broader retail investment and site refurbishments. "We’re delighted to transform our existing sites at Lusk Northbound on the M1 and at Ballincollig in Cork with these new brands and significant in-store enhancements," said Seamus Stapleton of Applegreen, noting a €50 million plus investment plan and plans to expand Taco Bell and other food partnerships in that market.

The Inland Empire openings signal a larger shift in quick-service strategy toward specialty beverages and experience-driven formats. Workers and local managers should watch for hiring and training announcements as Diversified Restaurant Group expands the Live Más Café footprint through 2025.