Serverless Development on AWS

Appendix B. Taco Bell’s Serverless Journey

With contributions from Vadim Parizher, Vice President of Technology at Taco Bell, and Robbie Kohler, Sr. Director of Software Engineering at Taco Bell

Taco Bell is a quick service restaurant (QSR) brand selling craveable Mexican-inspired food to its loyal fans around the world. As of November 2023, Taco Bell has over 7,200 restaurants that serve more than 40 million customers each week in the US. The company’s technical challenges are unique, as the order point can be either in or outside the restaurant. In the restaurant, orders may be taken by employees at a point of sale (POS) or entered by customers through self-service kiosks. Outside of the restaurant, orders originate from sources such as Taco Bell’s own website and mobile applications, as well as third-party delivery marketplaces.

Additionally, each Taco Bell restaurant operates in a highly dynamic environment where continuous updates are necessary for maintaining timeliness and accuracy for customers. These updates encompass menu variations, restaurant operating hours, product availability, pricing, order updates, promotions, and loyalty rewards. On top of that, order volumes can spike considerably because of a marketing campaign or a social media post, which is great for the brand but can be a challenge for technology teams. The customers may not realize it, but it takes a lot of computing resources to serve each taco or chalupa exactly as ordered!

Taco Bell’s digital transformation ...