After years of its customers speculating, raising hopes, and embarking on inevitably doomed late-night quests, McDonald's has finally relented. It will officially start serving its breakfast menu 24 hours a day beginning October 6.
McDonald's plan to sell breakfast sandwiches throughout the day has delighted many customers, but the move risks worsening egg-supply woes in the U.S.
The fast food giant been trying any number of what they’ve called bold moves, but has finally decided to give customers what they’ve been asking for.
The McDonald's breakfast menu is a selection of breakfast sandwiches, limited "healthy" options like fruit-and-yogurt parfaits, and the occasional hotcake and/or burrito. When McDonald's introduced its signature Egg McMuffin in 1979, it became the first fast-food franchise in the country to offer breakfast at all.
Serving breakfast all day is a major change. Currently, McDonald's breakfast is only available from about 5 to 11 in the morning, the hours are slightly flexible depending on location.
This has caused consternation among customers who forget there's a cutoff for their Egg McMuffins, and also those who are up late but not late enough to make it to a 5 am sausage burrito.
Restaurants and other food companies have already been struggling to get enough eggs following the worst outbreak of bird flu in U.S. history.
With the world's largest fast-food chain shifting to all-day breakfast next month, the strain is only going to increase, said Darren Tristano, an exec VP at research firm Technomic.
That could mean higher prices for consumers, as well as chains having to get more creative with where they get their eggs.
"It's going to make it harder for everyone," Mr. Tristano said. "It's going to lift prices across a lot of those products that use eggs."
Some restaurant chains are coping with high egg prices by switching to other products.
