Chain the Restaurant Is Profiting Off the Sweet Taste of Nostalgia | Eater

"The quick-service brand’s corporate food lab in Irvine and its product-development team play an active role in preserving and evolving classic menu concepts: staffers (including a designated R&D specialist nicknamed the “Taco Whisperer”) collaborate with outside chefs to study builds and flavors, helping projects reproduce and modernize items like the Crunchwrap and other legacy profiles while retaining their essential taste. Visits to the lab informed extensive recipe testing (dozens of variations) and underscored the tension between innovation and keeping the original dish’s identity intact." - Ryan Bradley