What Happened To Taco Bell's Meximelt Menu Item?
If pure love could save a menu item from disappearing, nothing would ever be discontinued again. This is especially true when the item in question is a staple — as was Taco Bell's Meximelt until it was silently removed from menus in 2019. Folded in a flour tortilla, the Meximelt was a combination of a soft taco and quesadilla. Though customizable, its ingredients usually consisted of pico de gallo, a three-cheese blend, and seasoned ground beef.
Its longevity serves as the most shocking part of its demise. For more than 30 years, it was a powerhouse food, and it had a unique origin story to back up its legacy. It was reportedly created by an intern who, apparently, misheard soft taco for a quesadilla. So basically, the Meximelt was formed accidentally by an intern who didn't quite hear correctly due to his headphones.
It's obvious the Meximelt is officially no more, but there are still several questions left to be answered. The main one is "why?" and that's because the company never offered its customers an explanation.
The reason for the Meximelt's removal was never confirmed
The sudden removal of this 30-year mainstay had customers, understandably, searching for answers. Unfortunately, the answers were never provided by Taco Bell, and they only came in the form of theory from anywhere else. After one bereaving fan took to Reddit asking why the Meximelt was discontinued, a commenter replied with what they had, presumably, heard through the grapevine. "From what I understand pico had to be prepared fresh daily so they saved a lot of labor by removing it," the user wrote. Another added that much of the product's ingredients were "thrown out daily" leading to "high food cost [and] little benefit."
Like many things that provoke strong emotion, the Meximelt saw diehard fans signing a petition asking for it back. "I was horrified to find out today that Taco Bell has just discontinued one of my longtime favorite items on their menu," the Change.org summary read in part. It went on to call its removal a "preposterous decision" before calling on fellow protestors to show them "the error of their ways." The petition, which set out to gain 1,500 signatures, currently sits at 1,416. Maybe with enough push, Taco Bell will bring it back like its Mexican Pizza.