MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – It started, as many things do on the internet, as a joke.
It ended with dripping candle wax and a box of tacos tossed from the bed of a pickup truck, yards away from the charred and partially collapsed remains of a 24-hour Taco Bell restaurant.
The fast-food restaurant caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday, Jan. 17. No one was injured, and authorities haven’t determined the cause of the blaze.
But the closure of Taco Bell – a bastion of cheap, delicious and nearly always available food for young people and anyone looking to save a few dollars – hit close to home for many current and former Montgomery residents.
A man walks in front of a damaged Taco Bell in Montgomery, Ala., on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. Dozens gathered in a nearby parking lot for a candlelight vigil for the Taco Bell. (Shannon Heupel/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)A Facebook proposal for a candlelight vigil to mourn the restaurant went viral, and more than one hundred people showed up Sunday night to honor their fallen favorite.