Page 13 - IAV Digital Magazine #508

Missouri ManListsFrozenDiscontinued Taco Bell Tacos For Sale at Only $200
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Daniel Hill
Among the many cascading traves- ties that have defined the year 2020, Taco Bell's inexplicable culling of many of its most popular items from its menu rates up there at — well, not very high actually, but
it is still a solid and unnecessary kick in the balls during an already awful year.
The news broke back in July that America's favorite house of varying amalgamations of cheese, meat, sour cream, beans and tortilla would be remov- ing some of the
more novel forms those five ingredi- ents take from its menu "in an effort to streamline operations," while eliminating all of its potato options outright.
Among the casu- alties of the bloodbath are the Grilled Steak Soft Taco, Loaded Grillers (Cheesy Potato, Beefy Nacho), the 7- Layer Burrito, the Quesarito, the Beefy Fritos Burrito, the Spicy Tostada, Triple Layer Nachos,
the Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Cheesy Fiesta
Potatoes, Nachos Supreme, Chips & Dips, and the Mini Skillet Bowls.
The massacre even includes the fast-food chain's beloved Mexican Pizza, leading to an online petition to save the famed flat foodstuff that has garnered more than 100,000 signa- tures.
In all, people took the news pretty hard.
So, against this backdrop, we
at RFT were excited to see that one local visionary had the forethought
to secure and freeze three now- discontinued Potato Soft Tacos and list them for sale on Facebook Marketplace for
the low low price of only $200. According to the listing, the tacos are in "mint condi- tion" and were brought straight "from drive through to freez- er."
"These babies are rare!" the ad reads. "Never been eaten!"
We reached out to the
seller, Bryant Hoban of O'Fallon, Missouri, and learned that the entrepreneurial scheme is part of a larger frozen- fast-food business idea for which the Potato Soft Tacos are simply a trial run.
"I've had this idea of 'investment sandwiches' where, like, you'd buy a limited-offer sandwich in bulk, freeze it, and then sell it later for a profit," Hoban explains. "You know, like the McRib — McDonald's only offers it once a year, but the demand doesn't go away. So then when I heard Taco Bell was dis-
continuing the Potato Soft, I decided it'd be a good opportunity to test this idea out before McRib season."
So far, things are going according to plan. Hoban says he's already sold two of the frozen tacos — he explains that he couldn't find a buyer for the full set of three, but he was able to sell two to individ- ual buyers — at a tidy profit.
"I sold them for $70 apiece," he says. "I recouped my investment."
As it turns out, though, Hoban is having second thoughts about selling the third. When he pur- chased the tacos, he explains, he ordered a few for himself to freeze and eat as well, which have since been consumed. As it happens, the Potato Soft Taco was Hoban's favorite item on the menu, and seeing as how he may well be in possession of the last one in the world, he's hoping
tofindawayto replicate it and ensure that its potato-y good- ness lives on.
"Once I got down to the last one I realized that we need to preserve this for future generations to experience this delicious being," he says. "So I'm holding onto it right now, and I'm hoping someone comes along and wants to maybe help me with pre- serving this — conserving the Potato Soft."
Hoban says he's open to donating his last Potato Soft Taco to sci- ence, with fingers crossed that they could "retrieve the taco DNA for cloning" a
la Jurassic Park. Though he con- cedes "everything has its price," he's now more inter- ested in conser- vation than com- pensation.
"I mean, if you had the last panda, you wouldn't sell that on Facebook, right?"
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine