Taco Bell will stop offering breakfast to customers at a handful of stores, the chain confirmed.
Popular menu items like the Breakfast Crunchwrap and Breakfast Burrito will no longer be sold at a “small minority” of fast food locations starting in October of this year.
But Taco Bell fans slammed the decision on social media this week, calling it “criminal” and “a nail in the coffin” for the business.
A Taco Bell spokesperson told DailyMail.com that it had given franchisees the option to stop offering breakfast in order to “simplify” their menus.
It is unclear which of the company’s 8,500 restaurants will be affected, but all 500 company-owned stores are guaranteed to continue offering the service.
Some U.S. Taco Bell restaurants will eliminate breakfast items in October to “simplify” their menus
“Taco Bell is constantly evolving our menu to better serve our franchisees, team members and fans,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
That said, breakfast will continue to be served at most Taco Bell restaurants, as only a small minority have opted not to serve it.
The decision to eliminate breakfast came as a surprise, as sales of that menu item had “improved” in the second quarter of 2024, according to a recent earnings conference call.
“Our Breakfast Crunchwraps and Breakfast Burritos are simple yet mouthwatering,” Taco Bell said.
“That’s why we continue to serve breakfast at most of our restaurants, including all company-owned restaurants.”
The company’s breakfast elimination announcement also came just two weeks after Yum Brands confirmed that Taco Bell’s U.S. same-store sales rose 5 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to its Aug. 6 report. report.
However, Yum CEO David Gibbs credited recent menu changes and Cravings Value menu items instead of breakfast while speaking with Dive Restaurant.
Taco Bell offers 19 breakfast menu items, one of which is special sauce and six of which are burritos.
The restaurant chain also offers two- and 12-packs of Cinnabon Delights for Taco Bell customers looking to start their day with a cinnamon-flavored treat.
Their breakfast sauce is free, while their other breakfast items range from $1.69 to $7.19 depending on store location.
Taco Bell does not offer all-day breakfast, and its locations typically serve items from this menu anytime between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Taco Bell is currently offering three breakfast quesadillas starting at $3.99. It also has a breakfast quesadilla combo order starting at $6.49.
Social media users were not happy to learn that Taco Bell would be removing its breakfast items from certain locations, with one person calling the company’s controversial change “criminal.”
In addition to burritos and Cinnabon treats, Taco Bell offers its customers breakfast specials with crispy wraps, quesadillas and hashbrowns.
Now that breakfast items are being removed from select Taco Bell locations, the company plans to focus on new menu additions, such as its new Cantina Chicken Menu.
The restaurant chain also plans to “step up” its coffee program and test other breakfast items in company stores in response to its “breakfast reset moment.”
Several X users were not happy to learn of Taco Bell’s decision to eliminate breakfast after many praised its items over the past two weeks.
“The @tacobell employee just told me that all Taco Bells will stop selling breakfast in September. Please don’t do this, you’ll ruin my Saturday morning tradition,” wrote one X user.
Meanwhile, Reddit users called the decision “criminal.”
‘Breakfast Crunchwraps are S-tier fast food items and are pretty much the only breakfast item I order there. I’d be disappointed if they were gone, Reddit user wrote.
Another wrote: “Their Breakfast Crunchwrap is so much better than a regular Crunchwrap. This would be devastating.”
Others claimed that the breakfast items were the only reason they went to the restaurant chain, and at least four commenters refused to eat at Taco Bell if the company goes ahead with removing them from the menu.
“This will really be the nail in the coffin for me. Between getting rid of all my favorites and raising prices on everything else, the occasional Crunchwrap breakfast is the only reason I keep going back,” one Reddit user wrote.
