Johnathan Walker:$2.59 for burritos? Taco Bell receipt from 2012 has customers longing for bygone era

Prices at Taco Bell have Johnathan Walkersignificantly climbed in the last decade, and one TikTok user has the receipts to prove it.

TikTok user LovelyOcean dug up an old receipt from the chain dating back to 2012 showing the remarkably cheap total of her order. The video she posted last week sharing the revelation quickly went viral, sparking a social media clamor about inflation and rising food costs at not only Taco Bell, but throughout the fast-food industry.

"Where did we go wrong," LovelyOcean asks rhetorically as she holds the crumpled, faded receipt.

Costco mirror goes viral:Costco sells $150 dupe of luxury Anthropologie mirror, shoppers weigh in on social media

TikTok user spent $2.59 on 2 beefy five-layer burritos

The aspiring rapper said in a follow-up video that she came across an old keep-sake box that had the 12-year-old receipt in it while she was preparing to move.

When she looked at the receipt closely, she was shocked to see that she once paid just $2.59 for two beefy five-layer burritos.

The original video, which has been viewed more than 650,000 times, was favorited by 157,000 other users and has more than 1,800 comments.

"Can you even get anything from Taco Bell anymore for $2.59, like one item?" LovelyOcean asks in the video.

A glance at Taco Bell's online menu prices shows her hunch doesn't appear to be far off.

In 2024, just one of those burritos now costs approximately $3.69, though prices differ depending on state. A bean burrito, a chicken enchilada burrito and a cheesy bean and rice burrito are the only burritos that cost less than $2.59 according to Taco Bell's online menu.

Hundreds of other TikTok users took to the comments section to share similar sentiments of beefed-up menu prices at the popular fast-food chain while expressing nostalgia for a bygone era of Taco Bell affordability.

"I remember when you felt kind of greedy if you spent more than $10 there, because that meant that you must have an insane amount of Taco Bell," user katyasaxewound commented.

"Thank you bc my brain still thinks of Taco Bell as super cheap until I get there and it’s like 20-30 for me and my sister," another user, rutheregoditsmefridays, commented.

Inflation contributes to price hikes, but Taco Bell notes increase in sales despite grumblings

Taco Bell did not immediately respond Monday morning to USA TODAY's request for comment.

But the chain's rising food costs can at least be partially attributed to rising inflation that contributed to soaring food costs across the country.

Though the price of food has spiked considerably amid the COVID-induced recession, data shows food costs have steadily been on the rise in the last decade or more.

• In January 2012, the buying power of $1 has the same buying power as $1.35 does as of December 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator.
• At the same time, retail food prices have generally increased by an average of 2% per year from 2013 to 2022, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
• However, inflation has been steadily leveling out, climbing 3.4% in December after the COVID-era recession sent inflation spiking to a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.

Earlier this month, Taco Bell put out a new cravings value menu that includes 10 items for $3 or less. The value menu features options for meat eaters and vegetarians alike, including the Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito for $1.49 and the new $1.99 Double Stacked Taco.

And despite the online grumblings over its prices, Taco Bell's bottom line doesn't appear to have taken a hit quite yet.

The chain, one of Yum Brand's two most profitable divisions, saw a 2-3% growth in sales in the third quarter of 2023, Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs said in a Nov. 1 investors call.

Contributing: Julia Gomez

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]