It’s no wonder Taco Bell is winning the fast-food wars. Just look at how they treat their biggest fans.

The energy was already high when my Uber dropped me off at The Hotel at La Valle, a resort and golf club in San Diego’s ritzy Rancho Santa Fe neighborhood. Excited fans had started arriving two hours before the official 10 a.m. check-in, which didn’t surprise me. After all, tickets to The Cantinas — $150 for two guests to stay overnight at the hotel, $50 for two guests to enjoy a day pass — had sold out in three minutes.

Much like a stadium show, the fandom’s enthusiasm also showed in their clothes. Most of the guests at The Cantinas were split into two camps: country club chic (à la tennis skirts and sweater vests) or Taco Bell attire that ranged from official merchandise to handmade creations. Cartoon tacos danced across Hawaiian shirts, dresses, and matching sets. One guy even had a hot sauce necklace.

Kenny Rotter, a superfan from Los Angeles decked out in a retro pink and purple set, told me he had made a new friend after bonding over their outfits.

“I was wearing a Taco Bell Hawaiian shirt. She was wearing a Hawaiian shirt that featured her cats, and it was just friendship at first bite,” Rotter told me on the event’s second day.

I hadn’t packed any Taco Bell attire, but there was no need to stress. As I walked into the lobby of La Valle, I was immediately handed a white canvas tote bag with “The Cantinas” emblazoned in cheerful bright pink. Inside was a pair of crew socks, a scarf, a fanny pack, and sunglasses, all with the “Cantinas” branding.

There was also The Cantinas Sundries shop, where fans could pick a free clothing item and accessory from 500 different pieces sourced from thrift stores across the country. Hanging among the racks were limited-edition Taco Bell merchandise, vintage T-shirts, basketball shorts, hot pants, and many, many hats.

When I spoke to CMO Taylor Montgomery on my first day at The Cantinas, he told me the event’s purpose was to say “thank you” to Taco Bell’s loyal supporters.

“A lot of brands say it, but we wanted to create a mecca for our biggest fans,” he said. “This is more a celebration of them than it is about the brand itself.”

While Montgomery wouldn’t spill how much money Taco Bell spent on The Cantinas, he said it was worth the price.

“From a business standpoint, these types of actions show that we’re putting our money where our mouth is in terms of what we believe in and where we want the brand to go,” he added. “And then we invite consumers into it.”

Taco Bell can afford to splash out right now. While many fast-food chains continue to struggle, Taco Bell reported a 5% increase in same-store sales in the most recent quarter — outpacing McDonald’s and its sister companies KFC and Pizza Hut, among others.

The chain has been making smart business moves over the last few years, revamping its Cravings Value Menu (where everything costs under $3) and keeping customers excited by frequently bringing back discontinued and limited-edition menu items. Even Dolly Parton couldn’t hold back her delight over the return of the Mexican Pizza.

But Taco Bell isn’t getting complacent. The chain’s savvy business strategy still underlies The Cantinas, which was named after the chain’s Cantina Chicken dishes. The new menu, launched in March, was part of Taco Bell’s mission to show the world that it’s more than just your midnight drive-thru stop.

“I think where we sit sometimes in culture is that we’re just a late-night brand,” Montgomery told me. “Doing something like this shows we have a depth and range to Taco Bell, that we want consumers to think about us for more occasions than they think about us today. “

The chain thinks this push is especially important as it looks to Gen Z, who are not only drinking and partying far less than millennials but also eating less fast food.

“We’re on this big journey of, ‘How do we make ‘Live Más’ even more relevant and meaningful for the next generation of consumers?'” Montgomery said, echoing the iconic slogan Taco Bell has held for the last 12 years.

“Gen Z, their values are very different from us millennials; they’d rather turn in than turn up,” he added. “If we want to make ‘Live Más’ relevant for the next generation, we have to take action and show that we’re in tune with them.”

‘Friendships are formed over Taco Bell’

After my chat with Montgomery, I had my first of many Taco Bell meals over the weekend. And since I had missed the “Welcome Nachos” breakfast (thanks, LA traffic), I was extremely excited by the spread. On offer were four of the five menu items on the Cantina Chicken menu: the soft taco, crispy taco, burrito, and bowl. There were also bowls of tortilla chips and nacho cheese sauce for dipping.

I opted for the Cantina chicken burrito and soft taco, my favorite new menu items at Taco Bell.

“You can really connect with someone who enjoys Taco Bell as much as you,” he said. “Friendships form over Taco Bell, and I feel like you don’t get that at any other fast-food restaurant.”

Zauzig’s point was proven moments later as we passionately discussed our shared love of the Cantina chicken burrito.

“I think it’s the purple cabbage; it just makes it feel so fresh,” I said.

“I was literally just about to say that!” Zauzig replied excitedly. “It’s the purple cabbage!”

I joked that I had never bonded with someone over the lettuce of a Big Mac.

“See what I mean?” Zauzig said.

Will you take this ring and a Baja Blast?

The second day was easily my favorite at The Cantinas. After whizzing through a packed schedule of activities on Saturday, I wanted to relax and spend most of the day talking to superfans.

As I strolled through the dining room and patio on Sunday morning, it seemed many around me felt the same. Groups were already clustered around tables, happily chatting or playing chess and Scrabble. It wasn’t until I sat down to chat with Kenny Rotter, an LA superfan, that I realized I had barely seen people on their phones all weekend.

“One of the things I’m loving is that this entire weekend has fostered creativity, and I think that’s something that is lacking in everyday society,” Rotter said. “If Taco Bell can get people off of their phones and doing things face to face, I think that’s beautiful, and wonderful, and awesome.”

They later sped away in a purple golf cart with the words “Just Engaged” on the front, cans of Baja Blast tinkling behind them.

At The Cantinas, there were no flashy performances, no influx of influencers and their entourages at the pool, and no endless Instagram photo ops. It was incredibly refreshing and shows a shift in culture that Taco Bell has smartly picked up on.

In a post-pandemic world, as the loneliness epidemic rages on, aren’t we all just searching for a chance to connect?

Plenty of critics will say that only in America could people bond over a fast-food chain. Yet as our society’s monoculture disappears, as we all watch different TV shows and fall deeper into highly-curated TikTok FYP pages, our shared experiences are rapidly diminishing. But many people still remember what it was like to roll through Taco Bell at any hour of the day to grab a Mexican Pizza or Crunchwrap Supreme for the first time.

After all, friendships are formed over Taco Bell.