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That oppressive 10:30 a.m. cutoff time is about to become a thing of the past. That’s right, beginning on October 6, all 14,300 McDonald’s restaurants in America will serve breakfast all day long. It’s something that the company has been trying out in various locations since March, but come October, it will be everywhere.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Company Stalled on the Idea for So Long Because of Logistics Involving Cooking Big Macs & Egg McMuffin’s Side-by-Side
According to the Wall Street Journal’s report into McDonald’s move, the company had stalled on the idea of introducing the all-day breakfast for logistical reasons. Speaking to the Journal, McDonald’s USA President Mike Andres said the move was the biggest step for the company since introducing the McCafe line in 2009. LeAnn Richards, a McDonald’s franchisee with eight restaurants in Arizona, had told the Journal back in July that a task force had come to her locations to try out the idea. New grills had to be brought in to ensure that raw eggs and beef don’t ever meet each other. As well as toasters, because the muffins and buns require different temperatures, reports CNBC.
2. The Entire Menu Will Be Shortened to Make Way for the All-Day Breakfast
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According to McDonald’s, the menu across the whole restaurant will have to be shortened in order to make way. In 2015, the company removed several sandwiches from the menu in preparation for the all-day service. Not all breakfast items will be available. That will depend on the region. The drive-thru menu will also only have that location’s top selling items available. During the morning rush, McDonald’s staff prepare a certain amount of breakfast items, later in the day, the breakfast items will be made to order.
3. The McDonald’s Business Has Been in Decline Since October 2012
As USA Today reported in July 2015, McDonald’s profits have been falling since October 2012. In 2014, net income dropped 15 percent. That’s the first time in 30 years the company posted a drop like that. Breakfast accounts for around 25 percent of McDonald’s sales in the U.S. The hope is that the push to all-day breakfast will push that number to 29 percent, reports the Wall Street Journal.
4. The CEO Behind the Move Insists He Eats McDonald’s 2 or 3 Times a Month
McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook. (Twitter)
This move is the brainchild of new McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook. The English businessman has been the CEO of the company since March 1. The London Independent reported at the time that Easterbrook was married with three children and that he and his family visit McDonald’s two or three times a month.
5. McDonald’s Breakfast Cut Off Time Has Long Been a Running Joke
The harsh realities of McDonald’s 10:30 a.m. breakfast cut off time has been a feature in numerous movies and TV shows. Notably, a famous scene from the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy (above). It was also named in a “Worst Summer Job” bit from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in August 2015.