Chipotle is cutting one of its main items from the menu
The burrito chain confirmed to CNBC on Monday that it is ditching chorizo, the spicy chicken-and-pork sausage meat that was added to the menu in late 2016.
Chorizo is reportedly the least popular protein among Chipotle customers, accounting for just 3% of total entree sales, according to BTIG analyst Peter Saleh.
Saleh told investors in August that Chipotle was considering cutting chorizo from the menu to make room for queso and other new menu additions.
According to Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold, having both queso and chorizo on the menu was inefficient.
"While we really liked the chorizo (and many customers did too), the efficiency of our model has always been rooted, in part, in doing just a few things so we can do them really well," Arnold told Business Insider in an email.
Chipotle has resisted adding new items to the menu for much of its existence.
However, since sales plummeted following an E. coli outbreak in late 2015, the chain has added three new items to the menu: chorizo in 2016, buñuelos - Chipotle's first ever dessert - in August, and queso in September. The chain also opened its first public test kitchen in New York City in July.
Many early reactions to Chipotle's queso have been negative. The dip is grainier and less gooey than traditional queso - something many customers find disturbing.