Some 18 months after Unilever-owned Klondike discontinued the Choco Taco, Taco Bell is bringing it back.
Technically, the new menu item isn’t the same beloved ice cream novelty that people so publicly mourned, but it might be close enough to scratch that nostalgic itch. As part of its menu refresh plans this year, Taco Bell is collaborating with Portland’s Salt & Straw ice cream company to offer what it calls “a gourmet take on the dearly departed Choco Taco.”
Officially dubbed the “Taco Bell x Salt & Straw Ice Cream Chocolate Taco,” which admittedly is a lot less fun to say, the new creation features taco-shaped waffle cones filled with cinnamon ancho ice cream dipped in chocolate and topped with toasted brown rice.
No need to rush out to the store to get your Choco Taco fix just yet. This won’t be available in stores until sometime this summer.
Salt & Straw has been making its own version of the Choco Taco for a decade, but this is the first time it has taken it nationwide.
The discontinuation of Choco Taco led to a much stronger backlash than anyone, especially Unilever, was expecting. U.S. Senator Chris Murphy jokingly vowed he would introduce legislation to “invoke the Defense Production Act to mandate the continued manufacture of Choco Tacos. And Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian made a serious offer to take over production of the treat.
“I’d like to buy the rights to your Choco Taco and keep it from melting away from future generations’ childhoods,” he wrote in a Tweet.
Choco Taco was the creation of Alan Drazen some 40 years ago, who worked for Jack & Jill Ice Cream Co. in 1983.
During a slow period, he pitched the idea to his boss, who instantly approved the concept. While a marketing firm was hired to name the product, it was Drazen who came up with the name. It soon became a hit on ice cream trucks and eventually struck a deal with (who else?) Taco Bell for distribution.
