Ireland’s first Taco Bell to open next month at new €15m Applegreen in Meath

New Dunshaughlin facility will create 100 jobs and feature multiple food outlets as part of Applegreen’s €1bn expansion plan

Tue, 12 Aug, 2025 - 09:15

Ronan Smyth

Ireland’s first Taco Bell restaurant will open next month as part of Applegreen’s €15m motorway service development in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath.

The service station is located at junction six of the M3.

Applegreen said it will create 100 new jobs at the facility, which will also include an M&S Food shop-in-shop, a new Braeburn Coffee Café, a Burger King, and Crafted, Applegreen’s new deli offering.

Seamus Stapleton, managing director of Applegreen’s Republic of Ireland business, said the company plans to add several more Taco Bell restaurants at Irish locations over the next five years.

Matthew Johnson, new market lead for Taco Bell Europe, said “by partnering with Applegreen, Taco Bell is able to bring our iconic menu and unique dining experience to Ireland and continue to grow as a global brand”.

The new Dunshaughlin service station is part of Applegreen’s €1bn plan to expand operations in Ireland, the UK, and the United States over the next five years. The facility will be open 24/7, while food outlets will trade daily from 6am until 11pm, with individual opening times for each outlet.

“This is a very significant addition to the Applegreen network in Ireland, as we’re opening a state-of-the-art new facility on the M3, which up until now didn’t have a dedicated services option,” Mr Stapleton said.

Applegreen was founded in Dublin in 1992 and now has almost 200 locations nationwide. It also operates extensively in the UK and US.

In the US, Applegreen runs 181 sites and was recently awarded a 35-year contract to operate 18 highway service plazas in Massachusetts. In the UK, its Welcome Break business operates 60 sites, including 36 motorway service areas and 31 hotels.

The company employs approximately 16,000 people.