Lettuce-Free $1 Deals Are Taco Bell’s Latest Move to Win Back Customers After Outbreak
For one day only, Taco Bell dropped the price of a fan favorite to $1. The chain rolled out lettuce-free Enchiritos on Wednesday, calling it a thank-you to customers who’ve stuck around. The timing lands in the middle of a rough stretch for the brand, which has watched customer visits slide sharply over the past several weeks as it works to win people back.
The Enchirito, a flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, beans and onions, then topped with red sauce and cheese, first debuted in 1970. Its name blends enchilada and burrito, and the item typically does not include lettuce. It usually costs between $3.99 and $5.49, or $4.29 according to CNN, but Wednesday’s promotion dropped the price to $1 through closing time at participating locations, with a limit of five per order.
Rewards members who bought an Enchirito could also add $1 Nacho Fries through the Taco Bell app, down from their usual $2.89. The company did not explicitly tie the discount to its recent troubles, but the timing followed a sharp drop in customer visits nationwide, tracing back to a lettuce supplier link uncovered in an ongoing cyclospora outbreak investigation.
A Chain Still Recovering From an Outbreak
The FDA’s investigation has linked the outbreak to iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms de Mexico. Epidemiological and traceback evidence connected cases at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia to the tainted greens. Taylor Farms issued a recall covering iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico that had been distributed to 27 states, well beyond the restaurants directly tied to the illnesses.
Taco Bell confirmed it had completed removal of the affected Taylor Farms lettuce from every restaurant and its nationwide supply chain days before the promotion. The chain said the move was “based on ongoing conversations with public health officials, and out of an abundance of caution.” It also told customers earlier that all tainted lettuce was gone and encouraged them to return.
Taco Bell CEO Sean Tresvant addressed the situation directly in a LinkedIn post, writing that every decision the company makes is about doing right by the people it serves. He said that means bringing the right people together, asking hard questions and doing the work to build a stronger food system. “We aren’t entitled to your loyalty,” Tresvant wrote. “We earn it one meal at a time.”
What the Case Numbers Show
The CDC reported 4,173 laboratory-confirmed domestic cases of cyclosporiasis since May 1, according to a report issued this week. More than 7,400 additional illnesses are still under review, many of them concentrated in Michigan and Ohio. At least 308 people with confirmed infections have been hospitalized, though no deaths have been reported. Those totals include cases beyond the ones linked directly to Taco Bell.
The FDA said over the weekend that a lettuce sample initially flagged as positive for cyclospora was actually a false positive after further review. Officials clarified that the correction does not change the underlying epidemiological and traceback evidence connecting the outbreak to iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms de Mexico. The recall on that lettuce remains active, and affected products should still be discarded or returned.
The illness, known as cyclosporiasis, comes from a microscopic parasite typically transmitted through contaminated food or water tied to human waste. Infected patients often deal with watery diarrhea, cramping, bloating, nausea, and fatigue, sometimes for weeks at a stretch. Because standard stool tests can miss the parasite, the CDC advises anyone with ongoing diarrhea symptoms to ask their doctor for a cyclospora-specific test.
What Comes Next for Taco Bell
The outbreak has taken a visible toll on Taco Bell’s business. Nationwide visits on July 17 fell more than 30 percent below the chain’s typical Friday traffic for the year, according to location analytics firm Placer.ai, with a similar drop recorded the following day. Shares of parent company Yum! Brands slipped roughly 9 percent over the same week, though Taco Bell has not released its own sales figures.
Customer reaction to the deal was largely warm online. One Instagram user commented beneath Taco Bell’s promotional post, asking the chain to “just keep the enchirito on permanent” now that it was back on the menu, even briefly. The chain posted its own caption that Wednesday afternoon, writing, “For the ones who’ve been riding with us.” The caption made no direct mention of the outbreak or the ongoing recall.
As of writing, it’s not clear whether the $1 deal is a one-off or the start of something bigger for the chain. The recall is still active, and health officials are still tracking new cases across several states linked to the outbreak. What’s certain right now is the $1 price, and customers can take advantage of it while the limited-time deal lasts.
