OTHELLO - Beginning this fall, Othello residents will no longer have to commute to get to the nearest Taco Bell.

Montana businessman Craig Langel announced Saturday the community's first Taco Bell will open in early September.

The 2,000 square-foot restaurant will be built next to the Othello Walmart, he said.

Langel operates several Taco Bell locations in the region. He said Othello had always been on his list of possible sites to open new restaurants.

"Othello has always been on the radar," he said. "I would drive through this area and wonder if the community was ready for a Taco Bell."

Cathy Johnson, who works for Taco Bell's franchise development department, said several factors determine if a community would be a good fit for Taco Bell.

"We look to see if there's enough people and if there is a vibrant high school system," she said. "We also look if retail is healthy in a community." She said Othello also made the list of sites to possibly open a restaurant because Taco Bell wants to open more locations in rural areas over the next few years.

Although Othello was in the mix, it wasn't at the top of the list for Taco Bell, she said. But a phone call from Othello resident Zeke Castro changed that, Johnson said.

"I got a phone call last year, and he was probably transferred a few times, but it eventually reached me," she said. "And he asked if we would consider building a Taco Bell in his town."

Company officials told Castro they would send the Taco Bell truck to Othello since they couldn't commit to building a restaurant.

The event was actually a surprise groundbreaking ceremony for the Othello restaurant. After Taco Bell representatives provided free tacos to community members, Langel told Castro the good news. He presented Castro with a rendering of the new restaurant.

Castro said he wasn't expecting the announcement that Taco Bell would be opening an Othello location.

"I'm overwhelmed by all of this," he said. "I'm so excited for Othello."

He said he looks forward to visiting the Othello Taco Bell once it opens later this year.