Taco Bell President Brian Niccol Claims Ignorance About 4/20
Taco Bell President Brian Niccol pulled a lot of legs during his recent Reddit AMA session.
Unless he’s really spent an incredible amount of time under a rock, there’s really no way Niccol is completely unfamiliar with a holiday that puts quite a bit of money in his company’s pocket. After all, Taco Bell is the clichéd destination for people who celebrate the drug-oriented holiday.
The Taco Bell president briefly discussed (joked?) about the upcoming holiday during the Reddit AMA. When asked how much sales had increased since the legalization of marijuana in Colorado, Niccol coughed up the following response.
“420 percent. But seriously what is 4/20?” he answered. Not surprisingly, a few Reddit users felt the need to comment on his continued ignorance.
“Your dedication to pretending not to know what 4/20 represents really impresses me,” one individual remarked.
Another wrote, “Come on now, it’s Taco Bell. How else can you keep coming up with new ways to combine the same five ingredients?”
If you’re also unfamiliar with 4/20, then we need to clear the air a bit. According to the fine folks at Wikipedia, the holiday is unofficially described as “a counterculture holiday in North America where people gather to celebrate and consume cannabis.” In short: People use April 20 as yet another excuse to get stoned.
Of course, it’s doubtful that the Taco Bell president is completely ignorant of the reference or the impending holiday. However, the head of a worldwide fast food chain can’t readily condone the use of an illegal substance during an interview. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not thankful for the people who trek to the restaurant to cure a wicked case of the munchies.
“We love making tacos. We love having a late-night business. Everybody needs to be following the laws, so from there that’s actually their business. We’ve got passionate fans that share with us what they’re up to, so we do get some interesting insight from people sometimes,” he explained during a chat with HuffPo Live.
The Taco Bell head honcho also commented on the company’s foray into the world of breakfast. Niccol said, “Look, I love being famous for late night, make no mistake, but [Taco Bell’s core demographic] is up early too. [Breakfast] is one of the few day parts in quick-service restaurants that’s been growing for the past couple of years.”
Although the Taco Bell president may claim ignorance about 4/20, chances are the company is ready and willing to accept any THC-covered currency that comes their way this April.
[Image via Shutterstock]
