A small, digitally-focused Taco Bell will open on the University of Alabama Strip in Tuscaloosa later this year, a spokesperson for the fast food chain confirmed Friday.

Marjorie Pearlman, the Vice President of Marketing for Tacala, LLC, said she can officially confirm that the company is aiming to open its fourth Taco Bell location in the city of Tuscaloosa around August.

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The new restaurant will be in the heart of the Strip, taking over the former China Master location at 1211 University Boulevard.

"Tacala is obviously excited to expand our presence in Tuscaloosa, where we already have three Taco Bell locations in the city alone, not counting our locations in Northport," Perlman said. "We're excited to get right on campus at the University of Alabama and make sure we appeal to the students there."

Perlman said the design will look less like Tacala's three other Taco Bells in the city and more like the just-opened Times Square Taco Bell Cantina -- a small, in-line unit with no drive-thru, limited indoor seating and digital-only ordering.

She said the finished eatery on the Strip will seat around 30 people inside and four more outside. Guests can order ahead using the Taco Bell mobile app or at one of several digital kiosks in the restaurant, but there will be no face-to-face ordering allowed except in times of extreme foot traffic, when employees will meet guests with a tablet and take their orders while they wait in line.

Click here to take a virtual walkthrough of the Time Square cantina and get a sense of what the coming Tuscaloosa location will look like. 

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