Wall Street applauds Taco Bell's decision to slash potatoes from the menu, even as fans continue to demand their return

• Taco Bell cut some beloved menu items earlier this year, including its potatoes and Mexican Pizza.
• The move helped Taco Bell's business, with UBS saying on Thursday it has already helped improve drive-thru time and allowed the chain to focus on higher-margin menu items.
• However, backlash from fans of Taco Bell's potatoes continues — with some calling on President-elect Joe Biden to bring back the lost menu items.

Taco Bell's decision to slash potatoes, Mexican Pizza, and more than a dozen other menu items from the menu continues to spark polarized reactions.

On one hand, Wall Street is loving Taco Bell's decision to slash items from the menu earlier this year.

According to Taco Bell, menu simplification, as well as shorter hours, helped boost restaurant margins and contributed to the 4.3% increase in operating margins in the most recent quarter. The chain's same-store sales grew 3% in the most recent quarter, parent company Yum Brands reported in October.

Read more: Taco Bell's Grilled Cheese Burrito — and its controversial decision to kill menu items like its beloved potatoes — send sales soaring

"Taco Bell's menu optimization earlier this year has already realized meaningful operational benefits through SKU [stock-keeping unit] and drive-thru time reduction," UBS analyst Dennis Geiger wrote in a note on Thursday.

Geiger recently met with Yum Brand executives to discuss Taco Bell, as well as sister brands KFC and Pizza Hut. Executives said that Taco Bell will replace eliminated items with "margin-friendly products," such as the Toasted Cheddar Chalupa.

Other products in the work at Taco Bell include wings and new fried products, according to Geiger.

However, some diehard Taco Bell fans remain unwilling to let go of the potatoes and other beloved menu items, such as the Mexican Pizza. Even though potatoes disappeared from Taco Bell's menu in August, social media is still flooded with demands to bring them back.

— Ⓥ (@alliekazam_) November 17, 2020

—ℂ (@TheSeaRose) November 19, 2020

Following the election, some fans have adopted a new tactic — calling on President-elect Joe Biden to bring back Taco Bell's potatoes.

—brie (@abrienne_noel) November 17, 2020

—sammie (@cobwebkitten) November 19, 2020

—amanda (@tamandarind) November 18, 2020

Many chains have trimmed menus during the pandemic. McDonald's, for example, stopped serving salads and All Day Breakfast — which may be permanently off the menu at the fast-food giant.