Taco Bell to Hire Guards at Outlets Staying Open Late : Crime: The Orange County-based chain says security costs will be substantial but are nonetheless necessary.

In recognition that “it’s a nasty world out there,” Taco Bell Corp. Chairman John Martin said Tuesday he has authorized the hiring of security guards at company-owned stores that stay open late at night.

The decision to bolster security was driven in part by the January slaying of four employees at a Taco Bell restaurant in Clarksville, Tenn. Police reported that the restaurant’s safe was open and cash registers were empty.

Taco Bell, which has 4,500 locations, will spend “several million dollars per quarter” to post off-duty police officers and security guards at an unspecified number of restaurants that keep late hours. “It’s a very substantial expense for us,” Martin said. “But we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a nasty world out there.”

Restaurant and retail industry observers applauded Taco Bell’s decision to help safeguard employees and customers.

“All restaurants have to face security costs these days,” said Michael Rhodes, president of Orange-based Frontier Restaurants and president of the Orange County chapter of the California Restaurant Assn.

“You run the risk of robbery and break-ins at closing time,” Rhodes said. “You don’t even want employees leaving alone at night. You want them to leave in groups of two or three.”

Security guards are less common at fast-food restaurants than at bars and grills, which typically stay open later.

“It can be a scary thing at late hours,” Rhodes said. “People have been out at parties or whatnot, they can be feeling boisterous, and tempers can flare. You don’t want (employees) trying to restore law and order.”

Most consumers welcome the added sense of security, experts said.

“It translates as someone is looking out for their safety after dark,” said Anna Northcutt, a former FBI agent who directs security at San Diego-based Hahn Co.’s 45 shopping malls. “I know that when I pull into a fast-food place at 11 or 12 o’clock at night, I feel more comfortable with an off-duty policeman standing there.”

Most fast-food restaurants close early, negating the need for--and expense of--late-night security. Operators who do remain open late at night say that the cost of hiring guards can be prohibitive.

Most fast-food restaurants “don’t typically do that much business at night anyway, and now you have to cover the added cost of security,” said one hamburger chain franchisee who asked not to be identified. “The result is that many places that need security at night simply close earlier.”

Separately Tuesday, Taco Bell reported a 5% decline in operating profit for its latest fiscal quarter, despite a 19% increase in revenue.

The Irvine-based fast-food company, a subsidiary of soft-drink giant Pepsico Inc., said it earned $54.6 million for the quarter, down from a profit of $57.4 million for the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the company’s second quarter, which ended June 11, rose to $767.1 million from $643.1 million.

Martin said the drop in operating profit was driven by one-time expenses and that “the business is still healthy.” Same-store sales--those at locations open for more than a year--were up 3%, he said, “which is still very dynamic.”

“This was just one quarter where everything came together on the cost side,” Martin said. “We’re still within our plan.”