Following a brief stint back after a long hiatus and then a subsequent nationwide shortage, Taco Bell is allegedly bringing back its iconic Mexican Pizza permanently. According to an interview with Fortune Magazine, Taco Bell CEO Mark King said that the fan-favorite menu item is coming back this fall.
“It’s going to be relaunched mid-September and it’s going to be a permanent item,” King told Fortune. “I had more feedback — hate mail! — over the removal of Mexican pizza [than any other time].”
Taco Bell confirmed this news with Nation's Restaurant News and said that Mexican Pizza will officially return on Sept. 15.
"Back in May, Taco Bell brought the menu item back with intentions for it to be on menus for good, only for supply to sell out in a matter of weeks," a Taco Bell spokesperson explained. "The late summer return is sooner than Taco Bell first anticipated when shortages hit earlier this year, as Taco Bell worked quickly to restock the beloved menu item."
The Taco Bell Mexican pizza — which consists of two crispy flour tortillas shells layered with beans, pizza sauce, beef, tomatoes and melted cheese — debuted in 1985 and remained a Taco Bell staple until it disappeared from menus during the great pandemic-related menu culling of 2020. In April, the Irvine, Calif.-based chain listened to the imploring of high-profile Mexican Pizza fans, including Doja Cat and Dolly Parton, and brought back the fan favorite item for a limited time only in May.
“The marketing team made it bigger than life,” King told Fortune. “One of the big advantages of Taco Bell versus our competitors really has been marketing brilliance over a very long period of time.”
But while the LTO was supposed to last for six months, fans were outraged to find widespread shortages of the menu item just two weeks after its re-emergence in May. Taco Bell said at the time that demand for Mexican Pizza was more than seven times the hype-level they expected and that they were “working diligently” to get the item back in fans’ takeout bags.
The company also was seemingly awaiting the resolution of these operational kinks to debut the promised “Mexican Pizza: The Musical,” starring Dolly Parton and written by the TikTok-famous pair that brought to life the unofficial “Bridgerton: the Musical” performance.
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