Chipotle is giving customers what they want. The fast-food chain will soon test BLT quesadillas and bacon bowls at a handful of locations across the United States after research showed Chipotle-goers are crazy about bacon.
Per a press release from Thursday, August 9, applewood smoked bacon “begins its journey on the road to a national rollout after receiving a tremendous response from consumers at the NEXT kitchen in New York City,” which is where the Mexican restaurant first tests any new menu items, and is the only place you can currently get your hands on a Chipotle quesadilla.
The release notes that bacon will expand to an eight-restaurant operations test in Orange County, California, in September before being considered for a full market test. In other words, to try Chipotle’s new bacon offerings, which include the BLT quesadilla and bacon bowl, you’ll have to head to the west coast. At least for now.
“Consumers have always said ‘everything tastes better with bacon’ and that is exactly what we confirmed in our New York test kitchen,” said Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Chipotle. “We found consumers added bacon to their traditional bowls, burritos, tacos and nachos while also enjoying new items such as the BLT quesadilla with bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese grilled to perfection.”
But that’s not all! Perhaps as a way to distract consumers from the hundreds of people who reportedly got sick because of food served at an Ohio Chipotle, the chain is also testing nachos in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul this October.
The nachos, which have been a top customer request for years, include “homemade corn tortilla chips topped with an all new genuine queso and choice of meat, beans, salsas and lettuce,” according to the press release.
And if you’re in to late-night deals, customers at participating Chipotle locations in Miami and Dallas can get $2 tacos with the purchase of any drink after 8 p.m. from now until September 30. The participating restaurants will now stay open later, until 11 p.m., helping to satisfy demand for food outside of standard business hours.
“A cornerstone of our new strategy is to make Chipotle more culturally relevant and to meet our customers where they are with flavorful food they can feel good about eating,” added Brandt. “We know that Chipotle is a great place to start or end the night, which is why we’re excited to test this pilot with our Miami and Dallas night owl fans.”
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