By Sarah Berger -
McDonald’s will begin serving breakfast all day across the United States beginning in early October, the Wall Street Journal reported. Franchisees voted last week in favor of the sweeping change, and the move was affirmed Tuesday by a franchise leadership council.
Customers will be able to purchase breakfast items all day at the 14,300 McDonald’s locations beginning Oct. 6. In the past, customers were cut off from Egg McMuffins and Sausage McGriddles at 10:30 a.m., and for years have requested an all-day breakfast menu be offered. Amid slumping sales, McDonald’s has finally decided to take the leap, which McDonald’s U.S. President Mike Andres said is the biggest strategic move since 2009 when the fast food chain introduced its McCafe line featuring coffee and espresso drinks.
Andres said this “is the consumers’ idea. This is what they want us to do,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “That’s why I think this could be the catalyst for our turnaround.”
Each restaurant will have to add or change equipment and processes, such as adding new grills and toasters, to implement the change. The total investment for each McDonald’s restaurant could range from $500 to $5,000, and is largely dependent on what equipment each franchise already has. To simplify the all-day breakfast switch, McDonald’s will offer only a few core breakfast items, including sausage burritos, hot cakes and, depending on the region, Egg McMuffins and biscuit sandwiches.
The massive change could help stem McDonald’s sluggish sales, which began drooping three years ago. In July’s quarterly earnings report, McDonald’s reported same-store sales below analyst estimates, CNBC reported. The new, all-day breakfast initiative is the latest one of CEO Steve Easterbrook’s attempts to boost flagging sales. In the earnings report, Easterbrook said he is trying to modernize the company.