Taco Bell owners grateful for welcome from Albion community
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Taco Bell employees celebrate the opening of a new Taco Bell in Albion this morning. Ashlie Buzard, with scissors, is general manager for the new restaurant at 122 West Ave.
Autumn Zona, at left, is the assistant manager and Junior Morales, right, is a shift supervisor. They are among the 32 employees at the site, which is looking to add about 20 more workers.
The Taco Bell opened at 7 a.m. today. It starts at 7 every morning and is open until midnight from Sunday through Thursday, and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
The group cuts the ribbon on the new Taco Bell on Route 31 next to McDonalds.
Co-owners include Matt Prouty, fourth from left, and Wahid Akl, third from right. They are part of Hospitality Syracuse which now owns 106 Taco Bell restaurants.
Akl said many Albion and Orleans County residents asked for a Taco Bell in Albion when they visited nearby Taco Bells in Brockport and Batavia.
“A lot of people have been requesting we come to Albion,” Akl said just before a ribbon-cutting at about 10 a.m. “The community has been very welcoming.”
Many of the Albion employees received training at the taco Bells in Brockport and Batavia. They also worked Tuesday evening in a VIP celebration for employees and their families.
The Albion restaurant is led by Ashlie Buzard, the general manager. She also was the GM for the Kentucky Fried Chicken in Albion. When that site closed in May she reached out to Hospitality Syracuse.
She hired the team for the Taco Bell, which includes seven former employees of the KFC.
“I’m really excited to be here,” Buzard said after the ribbon-cutting. “We’re open early and we’re open late.”
Eileen Banker, chief of staff for Assemblyman Steve Hawley, presents a citation of congratulations to some of the Taco Bell team, including from left Janet Lalone, training manager; Marc Stout, area coach (district manager); and Ashlie Buzard, the general manager.
Matt Prouty, one of the co-owners, said he is grateful for a talented team of employees to open the new Taco Bell.
“We’ve had a ton of applications,” he said.
He encourages more people to apply for a job at the Taco Bell.
Hospitality Syracuse has three more Taco Bells under construction: on Mount Hope Avenue in Rochester, in Watertown and in Queensbury near Glens Falls.
The Albion site accepts mobile orders, and will soon offer DoorDash delivery.
Most of the customers are expected to use the drive through. There are also 46 seats to dine inside.
Taco Bell currently receives about 10 percent of orders through the mobile app as a company, and about 15 percent of its orders are delivered, a company representative said today.
The Albion location has four kiosks inside for people to place their orders and make their decisions without the pressure of standing in a line with other people, Prouty said.
Lalone, the training manager, said the tacos, burritos and other items on the menu are all made to order.
“There isn’t a microwave in the building,” she said. “Everything is made fresh. Nothing is pre-made.”
