This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Taco Bell employees, from left, Oanh Nguyen, Brianca Garcia and Jessica Aguirre joined manager Tom Sorge and Taco Bell representatives from three states for Friday's grand reopening celebration of the renovated restaurant.

The newly renovated Taco Bell on East Putnam Avenue in Riverside is open for business once again.

The final touches are put in place including balloons and cake for the grand reopening of the Riverside Taco Bell.

The newly renovated Taco Bell on East Putnam Avenue in Riverside is open for business once again.

GREENWICH – Greenwich residents craving a chalupa, quesadilla or even the highly coveted Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell got good news when the “Now Open” signs were posted outside the renovated restaurant on East Putnam Avenue in Riverside.

“It’s all about food and all about hospitality and all about treating our guests the way you want to be treated yourself,” said Sunil Bhasim, district manager for Taco Bell.

The restaurant got a full renovation for its interior and exterior and drive-thru, delivery and sit-down service is back. The doors reopened Sept. 12 but on Friday there was a formal grand reopening celebration for customers and staff with Taco Bell representatives coming from as close by as Stamford and as far away as New York and New Jersey.

The interior redesign was part of an overall modernization project for Taco Bell locations across the country and features new tables, counters, flooring and digital menu boards and order kiosks inside the restaurant.

“It’s a clean, comfortable and vibrant look and it allows us to keep the focus on our great, flavorable food and our friendly team,” Jerry Kitzrow, region coach for Taco Bell, said at Friday’s celebration, adding that the brand has a history dating back to 1962 and they wanted a continuation of that history with a “fresh, clean look to welcome people in.”

Renovation work began in late July and the restaurant had to temporarily close. The plan was always to reopen and store manager Tom Sorge said he was eager to welcome the customers back, noting he had been manager there for eight years and calling the location “my baby.”

“I am thrilled to be back,” Sorge said. “I’ve been a part of this renovation when we were just getting the plans approved and working with our crew and getting closed down. We told our customers the whole time that we hoped to see them back here with a great, new looking store with all the latest and greatest technology being brought in.”

That message was heard clearly by customer Patrick Hale who was enjoying his breakfast there on Friday morning and was quick to volunteer how happy he was to have the place reopened.

“The food here is fantastic and I think the new look is going to be a smash hit,” Hale said.

Ken Borsuk has been a reporter for Greenwich Time since 2015 but has been covering Greenwich news since 2000. He has extensively covered local government including the Board of Selectmen, Board of Estimate Taxation and Representative Town Meeting.