Taco Bell is cutting the Mexican Pizza from the menu.- Fans of the Mexican Pizza are desperate to prevent the change, with more than 100,000 people signing a petition to save the menu item.
- Taco Bell has cut a number of classics from the menu in 2020, including the quesarito, the seven-layer burrito, and cheesy fiesta potatoes.
As Taco Bell prepares to axe its Mexican Pizza, some customers are putting up a fight to save the beloved menu item.
As of Monday morning, more than 102,000 people have signed a Change.org petition to save the Mexican Pizza.
Taco Bell announced its plans to axe the Mexican Pizza, as well as pico de gallo and shredded chicken, in September. The Mexican Pizza is set to permanently disappear from menus on November 5, making room for new options including the Chicken Chipotle Melt and Dragonfruit Freeze.
In the weeks since, fans of Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza have taken to social media to mourn their loss — and strategize about plans to keep the pizza on the menu.
@eatitkatie First fiesta potatoes and now THIS?! TAG @tacobell to STOP THEM ⬇️ ##Mexicanpizza ##eatitkatie ##tacobell
♬ original sound - Eat It Katie!
—Jae 4 Key (@J4KEYVR) October 12, 2020
—briizzy (@brizzzz13) October 4, 2020
The loss of the Mexican Pizza is a particular blow for many South Asian Taco Bell lovers. As Rima Parikh reports in The Takeout, the Mexican Pizza became a go-to for many who are vegetarian or keep halal but still want to eat
"Losing this item would not only be the loss of one of our favorite foods but a piece of our childhood & heritage as Indian Americans," reads the Change.org petition to keep the Mexican Pizza on the menu.
—Vinny Venkat (@venkatinthehat) September 3, 2020
—Swapna Krishna (@skrishna) September 3, 2020
Taco Bell said that it needed to remove the Mexican Pizza from the menu to make way for new options. Ditching the Mexican Pizza also helps Taco Bell become more sustainable, as the menu item's packaging accounts for more than 7 million pounds in paperboard waste every year in the US.
"While we know fans may be understandably sad to see some of their favorites go, this evolution of our menu truly paves the way for fresh new ideas," Mike Grams, Taco Bell's president and global chief operating officer, said in a statement in September. "The creativity and innovation in our kitchen hasn't slowed down at all, and we look forward to rolling out new fan favorites."
2020 has been a difficult year for Taco Bell fans who are resistant to changes at the chain. Over the summer, Taco Bell slashed a number of classics from the menu, including the quesarito, the seven-layer burrito, and cheesy fiesta potatoes.