Taco-bout a hectic week for fast food in Columbia Heights.

The long-awaited, at times contentious Taco Bell Cantina on 14th Street NW is finally open after a delayed opening Thursday – and months of yearning tweets from locals who wanted to wrap their hands around a Crunchwrap Supreme.

A handful of locals and swarm of reporters stood outside the restaurant at 11 a.m. yesterday, waiting to walk through the hallowed doors many have peered into for months. They watched workers unbox ingredients for the joint’s signature greasy tacos. They watched the machines full of boozy Baja Blasts fill up.

They were disappointed to find the restaurant would not open that day.

update: the cantina is not opening until 5 pm today. one eager fan waiting as i informed him of the sad news: “what the fuck”

— Colleen Grablick (@colleengrablick) May 27, 2021

Shortly after its scheduled open time, Taco Bell staff informed people waiting outside that the restaurant would not open until 5 p.m., a timeline that was later pushed back to 2 p.m. Friday. When a DCist reporter waited at the scene on Thursday, a Taco Bell employee came out to ask people if they were waiting for the cantina to open. When the would-be patrons said yes, the employee let out a laugh, seemingly surprised at the small crowd the cantina’s grand opening was gathering.

“I went at 10:30 a.m. to try to nab their inaugural Crunchwrap Supreme, but an employee told me they didn’t get everything they needed on their truck last night, so, ‘if not today, tomorrow,’” one person wrote to PoPville.

But why all the excitement and controversy over a fast-food restaurant?

One word: alcohol. The cantina, unlike traditional Taco Bells, serves up beer, wine, sangria – and, wait for it – twisted Freezes. For a city where a simple pilsner can run upwards of $10, that’s huge.

Duncan Bartok was heartbroken to find the restaurant didn’t open on time. Bartok had never been to a Taco Bell Cantina and joked with his friends that he would camp outside the store Thursday morning.

“I walked up and I saw the crowd outside,” he said. “I thought that the line was out the door, but then I showed up and people weren’t walking in and somebody told me that [opening has] been pushed back.”

Bartok said at the time there was a chance he’d come back, but if it got pushed back once more he’d be very disappointed. Thankfully, his dreams came true, and the ex-Columbia Heights resident gets to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

“I think the idea of sipping a happy hour beverage while enjoying a crunch wrap supreme, I don’t know if it can get much better than that,” he said.

Rumors of the cantina first circulated on Twitter last year followed by polarizing discussions over the ethics of adding a Taco Bell to a neighborhood brimming with delicious and traditional Mexican restaurants. Others were just happy to see their favorite late-night fast food restaurant open in D.C.

“There’s something about Taco Bell. It’s its own thing. It’s like it’s not even trying to be Mexican food at this point,” said John Dockery outside the cantina on Thursday. Dockery had the unsavory task of letting passersby know the store wasn’t opening Thursday (he said he first read about the delayed opening on PoPville).

Brendan Kownacki said he found the opening of a cantina in Columbia Heights ironic, as other parts of the city grow increasingly luxurious.

“This is like the fast-casual corner of D.C. now with the Krispy Kreme and the Chick-fil-A,” he told DCist Thursday. “I can’t imagine that I’m really like popping over here to have a beer, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”