Big news for McDonald’s breakfast fans who have been concerned by the conspicuous absence of a certain pancake-bunned sandwich from the all-day menu: McGriddles are coming to the McDonald’s all-day breakfast menu. Finally! That sweet, syrup-drench piece of heaven can be yours! There’s just one catch: You can only get McGriddles all day… if you’re in Tulsa.
According to the Associated Press, 72 restaurants in the Tulsa, Okla. area will begin testing an expanded McDonald's all-day breakfast menu starting on Feb. 1. It’s going to be a pretty lengthy test — an estimated two to three months — and there’s no guarantee that the expansion will go nationwide at the conclusion of it. Even so, though, the test has given new hope to McGriddle lovers everywhere.
Since the menu’s launch on Oct. 6, 2015, McDonald’s all-day breakfast locations have been divided into two camps: Those which serve McMuffin sandwiches, and those which serve biscuit sandwiches. The majority of restaurants are on Team McMuffin; they make up about 80 percent of the locations serving all day breakfast. The remaining 20 — mostly located in the South — are on Team Biscuit. Here's how to find out which team your home state is on:
Why haven’t all locations been able to serve both? Because of the nature of the beasts. AP notes that the buns for biscuit sandwiches require warming in the ovens, which also handle apple pies, cookies, and mozzarella sticks during the lunch, dinner, and late-night hours; furthermore, biscuit sandwiches are made with a frozen egg patty (not a phrase I thought I would ever type, but, well… there it is), rather than the cracked eggs that make up the bulk of the McMuffin filling. It’s an issue of both ingredients and equipment: Because what’s required to make each sandwich is so different, it’s a lot easier for the restaurants to handle one type of breakfast sandwich all day, rather than both.
McGriddles, like biscuit sandwiches, require oven-warming for the buns and frozen egg patties for the fillings, which partially explains why they haven't been available thus far. I imagine it won’t be too difficult for the 20 percent of McDonald’s locations on Team Biscuit to make the addition; McMuffin restaurants, however, might require a little work. It’s worth noting that some locations in Kansas City apparently started offering Sausage McGriddles in December — but in those spots, that’s also the only breakfast sandwich on the menu. Sorry, Kansas City McMuffin and biscuit fans.
Your sympathy is appreciated, Hiddles.
In any event, all-day breakfast is being heralded as the best business decision McDonald’s has made in ages; Reuters reported this week that sales in the United States have risen 5.7 percent during the quarter that ended on Dec. 31, which qualifies it as the best quarterly growth the chain has seen in close to four years. Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook told Reuters that it will probably take at least six months more of positive sales for McDonald’s to sustain its turnaround; however, he’s hopeful that these sales will be forthcoming. “All-day breakfast positions us to regain market share we had given up in recent years,” he said.
So, hey, if you live in or around the Tulsa area, go avail yourself of the glory that is the all-day McGriddle. Let the rest of us live vicariously through you. McGriddles are love. McGriddles are life.
Images: Getty Images; Giphy
