Taco Bell Makes 2020 Even Worse by Removing Mexican Pizza From Menu
Updated Sept. 4 2020, 7:02 p.m. ET
It’s a tough time to be a Taco Bell fan. The popular Mexican-inspired fast food chain has recently announced that it will be “streamlining its menu.” In theory, this sounds like a good thing — optimize the menu so they can save money and work more efficiently, right? In reality, it’s something of a nightmare. How are we supposed to Live Más with menos items on the menu?
The initial announcement was certainly shocking, but now, they’ve done the unthinkable. Taco Bell has come for the Mexican Pizza. (We know. It’s awful news. Truly awful.) Fans have started a petition to save the beloved meal item (that is neither technically Mexican nor technically a pizza), but will it be enough?
Fans want to save Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza — so they started a petition.
We can trace the start of this latest tragedy to September 2019 when Taco Bell first announced they’d be streamlining their menu to avoid “menu bloat” — a phenomenon that occurs when restaurants offer too many items, leading to customers not being able to quickly decide what they want. In fast food especially, quick decisions are key. They mean that workers can keep the line moving and make more happy customers (and also more money, obvs).
Having added a slew of new dishes in recent years, it was time for Taco Bell to cut the fat. They made the decision to completely ax nine items from the menu, including the Doritos Locos Tacos (both flavors!) and the Double Decker Taco.
But apparently, that wasn’t enough. Either that or Taco Bell just really wanted to hammer home the whole “2020 is a bad year when bad things happen” thing. Anyway, this September, Taco Bell made a similar “menu streamlining” announcement, but this time, another 12 items were placed on the chopping block.
Say goodbye to the Grilled Steak Soft Taco, 7-Layer Burrito, Nachos Supreme, Spicy Tostada, and Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes. Alas, they are no more. And while each of these losses is truly a tragedy, losing them is nothing compared to the real victim of Taco Bell’s menu culling: The Mexican Pizza.
Shortly after the horrific news was announced, someone started a Change.org petition to save the Mexican Pizza. It already has more than 20,000 signatures! Sadly, it probably won’t be enough to save the dish from getting the ax.
There may be a bright side to the loss of the Mexican Pizza, though.
According to Taco Bell, there are some very real environmental benefits to bidding farewell to the beloved Mexican Pizza. Currently, Mexican Pizza packaging — those iconic paperboard boxes — accounts for more than 7 million pounds of paperboard material in the U.S. By eliminating the pizza from the menu, Taco Bell is cutting down on tons of waste.
Eventually, we may be able to celebrate that environmental win, but we totally understand if things are still a bit too raw right now.
We also have new dishes to look forward to joining the Taco Bell menu, including a Chicken Chipotle Melt, Green Sauce (which actually had its own Change.org petition back in the day!), and the Dragonfruit Freeze.
Taco Bell says the new and “improved” menu will be rolling out starting Nov. 5, so be sure to order your (final) Mexican Pizza before then in order to celebrate your Last Supper together. Adios, Mexican Pizza. You will be missed.
