There’s nothing like the heartbreak of dreaming about a particular food all day only to get to the restaurant and realize your dreams have been crushed. For any Chipotle fans, this may have happened once or twice when you’ve craved a barbacoa quesadilla, driven to the restaurant, and had an employee tell you they can’t make one. Well, they can make one, but you have to order it online since all Chipotle quesadillas are digital-only.
Chipotle decided to digitize its quesadillas back in 2021 due to the “speed and availability” that goes into making quesadillas (via Fast Company). According to the brand’s chief technology and customer officer, making quesadillas is extremely time-consuming and a “huge disruptor” to the movement of lines during peak hours. Employees either have to place the quesadilla in tortilla presses and wait for it to finish cooking or bring it to a second line kitchen in the back of the restaurant and remember to return for it, while simultaneously helping other customers. Both results ended in chaos, longer wait times, and forgotten food, so Chipotle made the decision to move quesadillas exclusively online to account for the extra time and availability needed to make one.
A Chipotle quesadilla craving requires planning ahead
Technically, quesadillas were never on the regular Chipotle menu, though plenty of people remember ordering one in-store before the digital-only switch. Quesadillas were once considered part of Chipotle’s secret menu, but after rising in popularity, the brand decided to offer the item in a more straightforward manner. By using the app or website to order a quesadilla, Chipotle can better control the preparation and cooking time with available employees without disrupting the in-store line. It does make enjoying a cheesy quesadilla in the restaurant with friends or family a little difficult, though, since you’d either have to sit around and wait for your online order or plan ahead of time by ordering 10-15 minutes before arriving.
Quesadillas are the only menu item available exclusively online at Chipotle, though the restaurant did test the return of carne asada in 2021 as a digital-only option before bringing it back for a limited time in 2023. Chipotle isn’t the only brand to offer special digital dining options. Taco Bell is notorious for its secret menu items and online exclusives, like the Drinks Party Pack and the Build Your Own Luxe Cravings Box. Subway also offers secret sandwich options on its digital-only menu dubbed “The Vault.” If a Chipotle quesadilla is in your future, just don’t forget to break out your phone first — because no online order, no quesadilla!
