Over the course of fast-food history, there have so been many successes and probably even
more failures.
In fact, there have been so many discontinued items that we’re giving you another list
of forgotten fan favorites we would like returned!
The Top 10 Discontinued Fast Food Items We Want Brought Back NOW (Part 2)!
Taco Bell’s Bell Beefer
In the 1980s, as fast-food restaurants continued to emerge at inspiring rates, Taco Bell decided
they too needed to have a place in the burger market.
With restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King rising in popularity, the franchise wanted
to ensure they would still be able to satisfy fans' cravings for burgers, in addition to
Mexican-inspired fast-food.
The Bell Beefer was very similar in construction to the modern-day sloppy joe.
The burger bun itself was soft and golden and filled with Taco Bell seasoned beef, onions,
lettuce and a mild-flavored sauce - the typical Taco Bell ingredients.
In the beginning, it seemed as though the restaurant could not keep enough of their
popular “chili burger” in supply, but, as can be seen with many of the listed items,
as the fast-food market continued to evolve, so did the menu at Taco Bell.
Popularity spiked and after a long period of low sales, the Bell Beefer was eventually
removed from the menu in order to make room for new and more modern flavor offerings.
Here’s to hoping that Taco Bell, one of the kings in terms of fast food promotional
items, will bring back the Bell Beefer so fans can rejoice once more and enjoy a Taco
Burger!
Taco Bell’s XXL Chalupa
This item on the list is easily one of the most impressively large items to ever grace
the fast-food scene.
Taco Bell’s XXL Chalupa was truly a sight to behold.
Considering this beast was approximately 60% bigger than the traditional Taco Bell Chalupa,
it’s clear to see why they decided to name this item XXL.
This sandwich was about twice as wide as the regular Chalupa which was necessary to fit
in all the amazing ingredients.
The XXL Chalupa came dressed like the Chalupa itself, only Texas-sized - because everything's
bigger in Texas.
This product was launched in 2010 and discontinued shortly after, but it seems that Taco Bell
has been listening to the cries from their fans.
In both 2017 and 2019 the “Double Chalupa”, a sandwich almost identical to the XXL Chalupa,
was added as a promotional menu item.
When an item comes back three times over the course of a decade, maybe it’s time to make
the monster Chalupa a permanent addition!
Wendy’s Frescata
The early 2000s was one of the most revolutionary periods for the fast-food industry, as people
moved from wanting fast, quick and affordable food, to healthy and fresh options.
And all so very quickly.
Restaurants like Subway and Quiznos were rapidly gobbling up consumers as their new affordable
sandwich options left customers feeling as if they had made a healthy choice for both
their belts and their bank accounts.
In order to keep up with the changing market, Wendy’s unveiled a line of fresh deli sandwiches
known as the Frescata line.
The sandwich types offered were turkey, club, chicken salad, and Black Forest ham, and were
a pleasant change from the home-grown Wendy’s menu of the 90’s that was so recognizable.
Despite positive reviews from customers and relatively successful sales, these delicious
deli delicacies had to be removed from the menu simply because of their assembly process.
Most of the ingredients involved, such as the deli meat itself, were not common Wendy’s
ingredients and the preparation time in the kitchen was far longer than any other menu
item.
Even though these sandwiches were only on the menu for just over a year, they have stayed
in the hearts and minds of fans for over a decade since!
Pizza Hut’s Triple Deckeroni Pizza
Pizza Hut is well-known for their impressive pizzas.
In the past, they have had several ridiculously oversized pizza promotional items.
From the Priazzo to the Big Italy, these all focused on providing a pizza experience larger
than life.
The Triple Deckeroni is perhaps one of their most impressive pizzas ever made.
This pizza took stuffed-crust to an entirely new level by basically stuffing the entire
pizza with another pizza!
The pizza featured two layers of crust that were divided by a six-cheese blend, tomato
sauce, and pepperoni.
The top layer of the pizza was then crafted to resemble another pizza!
This pizza was straight out of Christopher Nolan’s Inception.
Today, the internet is abound with personal recipes crafted in an attempt to recreate
the meal at home, as well as testimonies from customers who swear that with a little extra
work, this pizza can still be ordered in 2020!
This pizza tower is still standing tall and awaiting its rightful return!
Let's make it happen Pizza Hut!
Burger King’s Burger Shots
Burger King is mostly known for its rather sizeable sandwiches, like the Original Chicken
sandwich and the appropriately named Whopper.
But despite being popular with big eaters, the rising popularity of restaurants such
as White Castle and Krystal Burger has pushed Burger King to try, multiple times over the
years, adding their own line of miniature burgers.
After changing the campaign several times, even changing the name from Burger Bundles
to Burger Buddies in the eighties, they ended up removing the item.
Apparently BK doesn't give up easily, so they tried releasing the promotional product once
again in the 2000s with a new name: Burger Shots.
Despite relative success, those items were pulled from the menu simply because the grilling
technique used for Burger King’s regular patties didn't work with the baby burger patties.
Besides the employees' irritation, these burgers, although not the best product in
terms of sales, still experienced a somewhat wild success because of their taste.
Fans of the classic Burger King hamburgers or cheeseburgers we’re overjoyed with the
fact that there was now a miniature version of their favorite burger Unfortunately, this
item only seemed to work in terms of novelty, and after its effects quickly wore off and
regular burgers were once again being ordered increasingly frequently, the Burger Shots
were removed from the menu for what seems to be the last time.
These Burger Zombies are like a scene straight off The Walking Dead!
They just keep coming back to life - which can't be such a bad thing.
McDonald’s Arch Deluxe
The 1980s were an absolute wasteland in terms of fast food products.
Chain restaurants were expanding from left to right as they were becoming increasingly
popular, not only with young adults, but also with families and the aging population.
In order to appeal to a wider demographic, McDonald’s invested in redesigning a new
line of Deluxe sandwiches that featured the Arch Deluxe as the leader of the advertising
campaign.
The taste of this burger was absolutely phenomenal!
Whereas before, it was the fastest burger out the door that drove people in the restaurant's
direction, the Arch Deluxe truly was able to bring a new level of sophistication to
the burger market.
Despite putting vast resources towards the advertising campaign for the new Deluxe burger,
it was eventually pulled off the menu five years after its initial release, because of
what was considered a major campaign failure.
Not only did the burger have a much higher price, but the advertisements did not seem
to resonate with the intended adult demographic at all.
Even if the burger was ultimately a failure, fans have been demanding its return.
Although many high-grade burgers have been released from McDonald’s since then, nothing
measures up to the taste of the Arch Deluxe.
Little Caesars’ Pepperoni Pretzel Pizza
When Little Caesars released their Pretzel Pizza, fans of the chain were in disbelief.
How could a combination of two of the worlds best ball game foods not have existed until
now: Pizza and pretzels?
Anyone who had the chance to try this amazing creation from Little Caesars truly took part
in a life-changing experience.
In opposition to a regular crust, the pepperoni pizza had been altered to have a crust that
tasted and looked just like a regular soft pretzel!
In addition to the earth-shattering crust, the pizza was also topped with an orange cheese
sauce instead of the regular sweet tomato marinara.
The pizza was also given a dusting of coarse salt to the crust.
This pizza was truly out-of-this-world and no other pizza had been made like that before.
People familiar with Little Caesar's will be familiar with their business style involving
a continuous menu with rotating promotional products, depending on the season.
The difference with Little Caesar’s is that they often rotate past favorites with new
specialties to keep old and new customers coming through the door!
Here’s to hoping that the Pretzel Pizza will once again be on the Little Caesars menu
board soon enough!
Wendy’s Fresh Stuffed Pitas
When Wendy’s released their line of Fresh Stuffed Pitas in the late 1990s, many people
were shocked to see the restaurant take such a drastic turn from their usual menu offerings.
Unlike many of the other listed restaurants, Wendy’s rarely welcomes promotional items
that aren't given real consideration to their potential full-time placement on the menu.
It’s for this reason that when Wendy’s produces a new menu item, it is typically
met with extremely positive reviews.
The hard work during the development of products really pays off and customers are always pleased
with what Wendy’s brings to the dinner table.
The Fresh Stuffed Pita’s were another example of how the phenomenal quality of Wendy’s
ripples down from the “fresh never frozen” slogan of the burgers, all the way to the
ingredients used to top a sandwich.
The fresh take on fast food was exactly what the market was begging for and since these
sandwiches focused on chicken and veggie flavors, it only increased their versatility and popularity.
With flavors like Chicken Caesar, Veggie, and Garden Ranch Chicken, it’s easy to see
why these pitas quickly became so popular in the fast food landscape of burgers, pizza
and fries.
To this day, there is currently a petition going around in the hopes that Wendy’s executives
will bring back the pitas!
McDonald’s McDLT
The McDonald’s McDLT is easily one of the most iconic menu items to ever be removed
from Ronald McDonald’s realm of delicious delights.
In the 1990s, McDonald’s could not ignore the looming business threat of its biggest
competitor, Burger King.
Although realistically it was Burger King’s flame-broiled process that captured potential
McDonald’s customers, the company's executives decided it would be a good idea to focus on
implementing a burger with similar toppings to that of the Whopper.
Enter stage right: The McDLT.
Similarly crafted to a quarter-pounder, this burger took the classic McDonald’s burger
toppings like onions, ketchup and pickles, and added on what they viewed as the missing
ingredients to success: lettuce and tomato slices.
This burger was met with relative success and praise from customers.
Even if one of the major factors to this burger's success was the packaging itself, those who
were willing to work a little extra for their meal were shocked at how truly delicious the
McDLT was!
Unfortunately, it seems as though the kiss of death for this big burger would be the
container itself.
While many people are familiar with the old styrofoam burger packages of McDonald’s
former years, the McDLT may have been one of the major catalyst movements in the switch
from styrofoam to paper and alternative plastic packaging options.
This burger's major advertising feature was the fact that the top half of the burger,
containing the cool ingredients such as the lettuce, cheese and tomato was packaged in
a separate compartment to the bottom hot half of the burger, which was home to the patty
itself.
This brilliant packaging was able to meet expectations and the burgers themselves were
absolutely delicious!
Unfortunately, the fact that customers had to make this burger on their own, mixed with
the fact that the packaging itself was so oversized and environmentally damaging, the
McDLT was eventually removed from the menu.
Scientists should have been working around the clock on this dilemma for fans longing
for its crisp and beautiful return, even decades later.
Burger King’s Crown Nuggets
As if Burger King’s chicken nuggets weren’t already tasty enough, in the 2000s, a new
promotional product seemed to bring even the most mature of adults back to their childhood
days.
Burger King’s Crown Nuggets were nearly identical to the regular nuggets but had one
major exception.
These fun chicken bites were all in the shape of crowns!
Going with their classic advertising campaign of “eating like a king”, Burger King stepped
up the chicken nugget game by providing customers one of the best nugget experiences they could
have for years to come!
One of the best parts of these nuggets was their perfect shape for dipping.
Whether it was ketchup, sweet & sour, or barbecue sauce, these little dunkers were able to pick
up the perfect amount of sauce, by using the corners of the crown prongs.
If one did not already feel like royalty while eating these little chicken chunks, these
classic Burger King crowns were made for that extra little addition of childlike joy.
In 2020, Burger King even released an advertising campaign featuring crowns with 6 foot wide
brims to help encourage social distancing!
The crown is one of the ultimate Burger King symbols and we are still wishing that those
amazing Crown Nuggets may once again reign over the Burger King Kingdom.
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