This salad chain banned Sriracha and bacon for a ridiculous reason — and customers are freaking out

Courtesy of Sweetgreen

Sweetgreen is cutting bacon and Sriracha from the menu, saying "it's time to make America healthy again."

The fast-casual salad chain announced the change in a Medium post, which was emailed to customers on Tuesday morning.

Cutting bacon and Sriracha is part of the debut of a new menu that the chain is calling "Healthy 2.0." In addition to cutting the less-than-healthy ingredients, Sweetgreen is making warm portobello and roasted steelhead menu mainstays. The chain is also removing 70% of the sugars in beverages, instead sweetening with minimal honey or agave.

While few would argue that bacon or Sriracha are health foods, it seems unlikely adding either ingredient to a salad packed with nutrients would negate its nutritional value — especially when items like the pesto vinaigrette, with 22 grams of fat and 190 calories, remain on the menu. However, Sweetgreen says that the change was necessary to stay ahead of the competition and craft a truly healthy menu.

Courtesy of Sweetgreen

The salad chain didn't explore its exact reasoning for removing bacon and Sriracha, and adding portobello and roasted steelhead, except to say the changes are intended to make the menu "more nutritious and delicious," and are the result of a year of work from the food and beverage team. Sweetgreen's head chef Michael Stebner explained the change in the Medium post, writing:

We're going to change the way restaurants in this country cook. Because of the access and footprint we have, we're on the biggest soapbox there is. That's why I came to work for Sweetgreen, that's why I’m here. Because I want to stop cooking for myself and start cooking for the world. Because it’s time to make America healthy again.

Some customers are less than happy about the change, taking to social media to complain about the loss of bacon and Sriracha.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/735146921954824192
@sweetgreen no more bacon?! How could you?!!?

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/735146166946541568
What the fresh hell is this! @Sweetgreen Who gets rid of sriracha and bacon?#UnAmerican

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https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/732661096696434688
Sweetgreen is getting rid of bacon and now I understand Trump ????????????????????????????????

Sweetgreen's menu is constantly evolving, with different local offerings and a variety of seasonal salads. However, cutting bacon and Sriracha from the menu is still a major step for the salad chain. Sweetgreen is all about branding itself as one of the healthiest options in the fast-casual industry — and it's willing to lose customers to prove it. 

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