McDonald's to test all-day breakfast beginning in April
NEW YORK (AP) — A McMuffin for dinner? It might happen, as McDonald's plans to test an all-day breakfast at some locations in the San Diego area starting next month.
The company said in a statement that the test is in response to customers who have said they'd like to eat breakfast foods outside the typical morning hours that they are served.
The world's largest restaurant chain said the test will include a partial menu and feature some of McDonald's breakfast sandwiches and hash browns. The company didn't say which sandwiches would make the cut.
Fans of McDonald's breakfast menu have long wanted the option to get breakfast at McDonald's after 10:30 a.m. But offering both the breakfast and lunch menu had been considered logistically impossible, given the tight kitchen spaces of the restaurants.
McDonald's had even tweeted about the topic in February, saying it doesn't serve breakfast all day because its grills "just aren't big enough for breakfast and lunch."
Still, Jeff Stratton, head of McDonald's USA, said in an interview with The Associated Press that same month that the company was taking a look at how it could make breakfast available later in the day.
The push to make breakfast outside normal hours partly reflects how McDonald's is working to keep pace with shifting habits. In particular, executives have noted that customers increasingly want foods personalized to their tastes and schedules.
McDonald's said Monday that it was too early to speculate on any outcomes from the test.
Janney Capital Markets had released an analyst note earlier Monday saying that their industry sources had told them that McDonald's planned to test all-day breakfast in the U.S. The analyst note was released before McDonald's confirmed the report.
"Having those breakfast items available to sell all day would also serve as a reminder to customers (and the media. and Wall Street.) that McDonald's does indeed have craveable food to sell," Janney analyst Mark Kalinowski wrote.
Shares of McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, Illinois, added 90 cents to $97.86 in afternoon trading.