Taco Bell announced Thursday that it’s making breakfast optional for franchisees to give them better flexibility “to focus on key drivers of growth.”

Operators can begin opting out of breakfast in October. However, only a “small minority” decided to remove the menu. This group (all franchisees and no company-owned stores) wants to dedicate more time to the lunchtime daypart and the new Cantina Chicken menu.

“We are known for our partnership with franchisees, and this is another example of how the brand is listening to its people, taking their feedback into account, and making changes to support the overall growth of the brand,” Taco Bell said in a statement.

Despite the shift, Taco Bell remains confident in its breakfast platform. The morning daypart has continued to improve through Q2 2024, fueled by items like the Breakfast Crunchwrap and Breakfast Burrito. In conjunction with this announcement, Taco Bell will start ramping up its coffee program and continue testing new breakfast products in company restaurants.

All locations, whether they serve breakfast or not, will open at 9 a.m. or earlier, serving the rest of the menu.

“At an innovative brand like Taco Bell, we are constantly trying new things (products, restaurant formats, etc.). This is no different; we test and learn so we can evolve and better serve our franchisees, team members and fans,” the company said. “We have to be nimble in a constantly changing QSR environment, especially with the range of audiences and lifestyles we serve.”

Taco Bell has been one of the best performers in the quick-service segment this year through all of the macroeconomic pressures. The chain’s same-store sales grew 5 percent in Q2, far outpacing Yum! Brands sister concepts KFC, Pizza Hut, and The Habit Burger Grill. Taco Bell went from consumers managing check earlier this year to check growth in Q2, led by items per transaction. The chain’s comps increased mid-single digits across all income cohorts, with a lot of help from the Cantina Chicken and Cravings Value menus.

Digital mixed 35 percent, and loyalty sales lifted more than 30 percent in the quarter as well. At Yum!’s 488 company-owned Taco Bell restaurants in the U.S., store-level margins were 25.6 percent in Q2, with mature locations achieving more than 27 percent.

Taco Bell opened 56 restaurants in Q2, including 17 stores across international markets. The brand ended the quarter with 7,458 U.S. stores and 1,107 international outlets.