Spending the night in a Taco Bell has gone from being a dream to being a reality for Toronto's Jennifer Chow and her three friends.
The Taco Bell on St. Clair St. in Chatham was closed Monday as part of the restaurant chain's "Steakcation" contest.
As a result, the front of the store was transformed to resemble an Airbnb room, equipped with bunk beds, a flat screen TV, and games. The room also came with a personal butler and the option to have anything from the menu.
Chow, who won the contest, says she first found out about the contest through Facebook.
"I applied for it - didn't think I was going to get it, and a few days later I checked my junk mail and I got an email from Taco Bell," says Chow.
After passing the written application, Chow says her and her three former roommates participated in a Skype interview.
"We always eat at Taco Bell and we always ate it together in university," says Chow. "That's why this is such a good moment for all of us."
Before winning the contest, Chow says she didn't have a clue where Chatham was.
"I had to google it when I won the competition to see how far it was," she says. "It was quite a trek but it was definitely worth it."
Fans who weren't so lucky were able to partially experience the "Steakcation" by watching the winners over a live stream.
Head of Marketing and R&D for Taco Bell Veronica Castillo says the contest had been very successful in gaining a lot of buzz from fans.
"We had over 2,500 entries," says Castillo. "We couldn't be happier with the results we've seen."
Castillo says the reason behind why they chose Chatham as their "Steakcation" location is because of the store's popularity in Southwestern Ontario, also because the store has been newly renovated.
Bringing the contest back to Chatham, however, is still a question mark.
"We always try to bring new experiences to our fans," says Castillo. "Expect new things from us for sure - I'm not saying we're going to bring another Airbnb idea but expected that we're going to bring something pretty fun."
