Taco Bell — Restaurant in Rapid City

January 01, 2025

My partner and I ventured to the Taco Bell on Cathedral Drive for lunch after work. The interior was clean and updated, gleaming under fluorescent lights that seemed just a little too bright--bright enough, perhaps, to illuminate secrets best left in shadow. Outside, a RCPD vehicle circled the building like a hawk eyeing its prey. A coincidence? An officer on lunch break? Or something more profound? This marked my second unsettlingly close encounter with RCPD that day. I took note, as one should.

We decided to split the Crispy Chicken Nuggets Deluxe Meal, a feast of decadence and excess: five crispy chicken nuggets with a choice of sauce, a crunchy taco, a Chalupa Supreme, seasoned fries, nacho cheese sauce, and a medium fountain drink. For the uninitiated, this is not just a meal but a ritual, a series of textures and flavors designed to challenge and satiate.

I requested a Doritos Locos Crunchy Taco instead of the standard offering, a harmless substitution--or so I thought.

As I placed the order, an employee who wasn't handling the register approached. He was an enigma of a man, his two-day stubble an ode to disarray, his eyes brimming with a wild, untamed knowledge. His voice boomed across the counter, echoing like a prophet issuing a decree: "We only have the Signature Bell Sauce."

It wasn't a request, nor an apology--it was a warning. I nodded, attempting to convey my acceptance. The Bell Sauce would suffice. But the man was unmoved. He repeated his proclamation, louder, as if the air itself had resisted carrying his words. Was he hard of hearing? Or was he trying to ensure that I truly understood?

Perhaps he knew something I did not. What could lie behind this strange absence of sauces? A supply chain issue? A disruption in the fabric of reality? Or was the Bell Sauce itself the only thing standing between us and an unspeakable doom?

I confirmed, out loud this time, that the Bell Sauce was fine. His reaction was... strange. His stance shifted as if bracing against an unseen force, his voice rising once more: "We only have Bell Sauce. Is that okay?"

I cannot stop wondering if I failed to decode the deeper meaning in his words, a message veiled in corporate jargon. Was I meant to heed his warning, to flee the premises while I still could?

We placed the order anyway. I chose a Diet Mountain Dew as my drink, a decision made not out of desire but necessity. As a Diet Coke and Coke Zero loyalist, this was no small compromise, but it had nothing to do with the establishment. It was a personal cross to bear.

When the food arrived, we discovered the Signature Bell Sauce was missing entirely. We had to request it, a minor inconvenience--but also an omen. Could it be that the sauce wasn't merely missing but intentionally withheld, a test of some kind? Or was it, perhaps, never meant to be delivered at all?

The meal itself was as expected: warm, flavorful, and acceptable in every way. The seasoned fries were crisp, the nuggets delightfully fried, and the Doritos Locos Crunchy Taco as vibrant as ever. Still, I left the Cathedral Drive Taco Bell with a lingering sense of unease, as though I had witnessed something I wasn't meant to see, felt the brush of something cosmic and unknowable.

Would I return? Certainly. But I will tread carefully, for the mysteries of the Bell Sauce and the ever-watchful gaze of the RCPD...

This used to be my favorite taco bell in rapid city but about a year ago it started to go downhill with mistakes on both drive through and mobile orders as well as poor customer service. In one instance a few months ago, I placed a mobile order for over $10 and when I got to the speaker box they confirmed my order as normal then at the window they informed me that they were out of ingredients and unable to make my food. I asked about a refund and was told just to cancel it through the app since it was a mobile order then they shut the window and walked away. I drove around to park and cancel but was unable to because the employee had checked it in as picked up and the store closed while I was trying to figure out a way get a refund without having to deal with the employee's attitude. I wrote to customer service immediately requesting the store follow up with me but never heard back. This along with countless other issues ranging from customizations being ignored, missing items, things like quesadillas with cold, unmelted, straight from the fridge cheese, and attitude from the workers both in person and on the phone when myself as well as others have tried to get our orders fixed has caused me to go out of the way to other Taco Bells in town. Avoid this place if you can, go up 5th a little farther to the location on Stumer Road or over to East...

We went to the Taco Bell on Mt. Rushmore Street in Rapid City, SD tonight before starting our 300 mile drive home. Drive thru was the only way to order so went through and ordered. We asked for our order and mild sauce. The young person taking our order was great and very polite. Once we got to the parking lot we realized they forgot the sauce. I called and asked them to bring some out since doors were locked and was rudely asked "which of the 12 cars were they bringing it out to?" They brought out the sauce and I thanked them. We left to the gas station across the street and parked to eat. Then we realized they did not give us the correct tacos. Went back, called and they wanted us to get in drive thru behind about 10 cars to get the correct ones. I said I wanted them to bring them out to the parking lot with the length of the line. The person's response was "Is there anything else you want us to bring out when we come out again?" in a very rude tone. I responded with "Just what I paid for." The person on the phone, I assume a manager, came out with the bag of tacos pointed her finger at me and told me I didn't need to be so rude while holding my food away from me behind her back. Taco Bell was a treat for me as there is not one where I live. I will not be going back. I wish I could give...