Toledoans love Taco Bell, and apparently that love is a two-way street.

Four years ago, the Irvine, Calif., fast-food chain used Toledo exclusively to test its Doritos Locos Tacos, which have become a mainstay on its menu. Now the chain has chosen the Glass City again to seek feedback on a new product.

And this time the stakes are higher.

Over the next four weeks, Taco Bell will serve up its latest idea, the Quesalupa — a cross between a quesadilla and a chalupa — exclusively at 36 Toledo-area stores. Company officials say that they have so much faith in the judgment of Toledoans that if the locals spurn the Quesalupa, the product is dead.

The company’s ad campaign that began running locally Sunday says it all: “If you don’t love it first Toledo, the rest of the country can’t have it.”

“The whole premise is bringing to light how Toledo has a shot to make this big. We’ve never brought this much attention to a test market,” Taco Bell spokesman Matt Prince said. “We’re putting a lot of pressure on [Toledoans] to get it right.”

Mr. Prince said Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc. of Louisville, came away impressed four years ago during its trial of the Doritos taco line. Toledoans provided enough research to allow company executives to feel secure in rolling out the product nationwide.

Mr. Prince said Taco Bell officials were researching Toledo and came across the recent revival of the city’s old slogan: “You will do better in Toledo.” The slogan brought a chuckle because the company agrees.

Mr. Prince said the new trial will work similarly to the previous test.

Local Taco Bells will sell the Quesalupa — a grilled flour tortilla that is stuck onto the outer surface of a standard Chalupa using melted pepper jack cheese stuffed inside a flaky, crispy shell — starting this week for a test price of $2.99. Local TV ads and radio spots will encourage customers to try it.

After the monthlong trial, the chain will decide whether to expand it to other markets or kill it altogether.

“We will be saying, ‘Try it while you can. It will be available for a limited time,’ ” Mr. Prince said.

Unlike in 2011, Taco Bell is asking those who try the product to share their thoughts about it on social media websites. Taco Bell will datamine social media activity to gauge customer reaction, and it started an information page and Twitter link at tacobell.com/​quesalupa.

It also has rented two electronic bill boards on I-475, one in each direction, to showcase selected comments from customers who tweet about the product on Twitter using #Quesalupa.

The billboards will run for two weeks beginning Wednesday.

Contact Jon Chavez at: jchavez@theblade.com or 419-724-6128.

First Published February 3, 2015, 5:00 a.m.