Largest U.S. Taco Bell franchisee adds 34 more units

Tacala LLC, the country's largest Taco Bell franchisee based in Vestavia Hills, Ala., has added 34 locations to its portfolio.According to Al.com, the purchased Taco Bell restaurants are located in St. Louis and Knoxville, Tenn., bringing the company's total to 224 total units in eight states.The acquisitions happened about a month after the company purchased 27 Taco Bell locations in St. Louis from GenXMex Foods Inc. Combined, the two transactions mark Tacala's initial presence in the Missouri market.Additionally, Tacala named Tim Morrison as its new president. The former chief operations officer will work closely with Don Ghareeb, CEO, to help guide the company's growth.Morrison joined the company in 2008. Prior, he served in a number ofleadership positionsat Taco Bell Corp for 23 years.In addition to Alabama, Missouri and Tennessee, Tacala has restaurants in Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia.Read more about franchising.