A candlelight vigil was held for a Taco Bell in Alabama that burned down

The mourners gathered as close to the scene as possible, their stomachs empty but hearts full, remembering the chalupas and gorditas they once enjoyed inside the burned-down Taco Bell, now just an empty shell.

It started as a joke — holding a candlelight vigil for the Taco Bell on Zelda Road in Montgomery, Alabama, that was destroyed in a fire last Wednesday — but as word spread, the Taco Bell lovers realized that they actually would miss being able to pop over for a Doritos Locos taco whenever a craving hit. No one was hurt in the fire, which officials say started in a room that held electrical equipment, and the owners have already vowed to rebuild, making the candlelight vigil a celebration as well.

About 100 people showed up for the event, which had to take place in the parking lot of the Arby's next door for safety reasons. Fans who couldn't make it to the actual vigil shared their heartfelt memories on Facebook, including Shaw Gibbons, who said the Taco Bell was there when all other fast food restaurants had forsaken him. "When McDonalds failed me, you lifted me up," he wrote. "When Sonic was closed, you filled my cup. When Arby's went dark, you made me smile. Your quesadillas sustained me mile after mile." Catherine Garcia

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.