[UPDATED] Chipotle Got Rid Of One Major Menu Item
UPDATE: Sept. 19, 2017 at 12:45 p.m.
It's official: After less than a year on its menu, Chipotle is getting rid of chorizo. The news was confirmed on Monday that the brand would be doing away with the spicy chicken and pork mixture to focus more on its all-new queso.
"When we decided to move forward with the national rollout of queso, we opted to replace chorizo on the line with queso, so chorizo is going away," Chris Arnold, a Chipotle spokesperson, told CNBC. "While we really liked the chorizo (and many customers did too), the efficiency of our model has always been rooted, in part, in doing just a few things so we can do them really well."
Though it's a sad move for any customers who actually enjoyed Chipotle's chorizo, it's not all that surprising, since there was already speculation as early as last month that the new meat would soon be on the chopping block due to low sales.
ORIGINAL POST: Aug. 18, 2017 at 11:45 a.m.
Just last year, Chipotle introduced chorizo, a spicy ground sausage made from chicken and pork, to its lineup. But it might not be long for this world. Business Insider reports that Chipotle is considering doing away with the protein, as it hasn't quite caught on like they had hoped.
BTIG analyst Peter Saleh told the site that chorizo only makes up three percent of Chipotle's sales, so the company is considering cutting it to make room for other ingredients like queso dip, which is being tested at many locations. In fact, chorizo is already out at a variety of test locations. Chris Arnold, a representative for Chipotle, confirmed this in a statement to Delish.com:
"In considering any change in our restaurants, in this case the addition of queso, we want to be sure that our operations are still as smooth and efficient as they can be. When we expanded the queso test to include restaurants in and around Colorado, and in Southern California, we tested an option where we would add queso with no other changes (in the California restaurants) and an option where queso would replace something else, in this case chorizo (in restaurants in and around Colorado)."
As to whether this change will expand cross-country? They're not sure yet. "We haven't gotten into plans for what any expansion of the test might look like," Arnold says. "The current testing phase is intended to let us gather information about what works best, so we can factor that into whatever we decide to do next."
Chipotle is also reportedly testing out frozen margaritas and salad with avocado dressing, and even drive-thrus and ordering kiosks. They might make changes to nonalcoholic drinks and breakfast items, too. CNBC notes that Chipotle hasn't made many changes at all to its menu in its 24 years of operation, so this is a major shift for the company. So get ready for your burrito bowl to be a little different in the future - and if you love chorizo, get it while it lasts.
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