Taco Bell to open first Northern Ireland location in Lisburn North

Taco Bell is set to land in Northern Ireland for the first time, with a May 2026 opening planned at Applegreen’s Lisburn North service area on the M1 near Belfast. The new restaurant will run seven days a week from 11am to 10pm, turning a familiar forecourt stop into the brand’s newest foothold on the island of Ireland.

For Applegreen, the opening is another step in a wider push to use its roadside sites as launchpads for branded food outlets. The company said the Northern Ireland restaurant is part of a broader partnership with Taco Bell across the UK and Ireland, and it sits inside Applegreen’s €1 billion upgrade and expansion plan. That makes the Lisburn North store more than a one-off ribbon cutting. It looks like a test case for how the chain may keep growing in places where high-traffic travel sites can support fast service and extended trading hours.

John Diviney, Applegreen UK managing director, welcomed the deal and said, “We are really excited to announce this partnership to launch the iconic Taco Bell brand in Northern Ireland.” Taco Bell UK & Ireland market leader Keyur Patel said the opening was “another exciting step forward” for the brand’s rapid expansion across the UK and Ireland, adding that the company is proud to bring its “bold flavours and iconic products” to new consumers.

For workers, the important detail is not just the name on the sign but the operating model behind it. The Lisburn North site will be staffed through Applegreen’s network, with the restaurant open daily from late morning through 10pm, a schedule that typically means a mix of lunch, dinner and evening shifts rather than a narrow peak-time trade. On a forecourt site, that can shape hiring needs around speed, cross-training and coverage across food service and retail operations.

Taco Bell already has a growing presence elsewhere on the island. Taco Bell Ireland’s official site listed five locations in the Republic of Ireland as of April 2026, while Applegreen said it operates 10 Taco Bell locations through its Welcome Break business in the UK. That footprint suggests the Lisburn opening is being used as part of a broader rollout pattern, not a standalone experiment.

The Northern Ireland debut also shows how major U.S. fast-food brands are entering the market through operators that already control travel hubs and service-station trade. In practice, that means the jobs, training and day-to-day pace at Lisburn North will be shaped as much by Applegreen’s operating system as by Taco Bell’s menu.