McDonald’s to start all-day breakfast Oct. 6

Chicago — McDonald’s will begin rolling out all-day breakfast nationwide on Oct. 6, a long-awaited move that could help boost sales for the flagging burger chain.

The move, following a vote Tuesday by franchisee leadership, is the boldest one yet under McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, who was hired in March and has vowed to transform the fast-food giant into a modern burger chain. Up to this point, the turnaround plan has involved less headline-grabbing decisions, like cost-cutting measures and selling company-owned restaurants to franchisees.

But all-day breakfast is sure to create the most buzz among consumers and shareholders who have clamored for it for years.

“I think Steve (Easterbrook) has challenged us to take more risks,” said Mike Andres, McDonald’s U.S. president. “It’s emboldened us to not work so hard to get everything perfect. It’s a consumer-driven plan. Let’s put it to work, and people can tell us what comes and what goes.”

It’s the largest operational change since McDonald’s, based in suburban Chicago, introduced the McCafe coffee and espresso drinks in 2009, Andres said.

A test of all-day breakfast first began in April in San Diego.

For the past two months or so, a task force of McDonald’s franchisees has studied the issue while testing was expanded to markets like Nashville, Tennessee. The challenges primarily had to do with ensuring there was enough cooking space in the kitchen, said LeeAnn Richards, an Arizona franchisee who led the task force.

“The last thing we wanted to do was complicate the lives of our people,” Richards said.

Most franchisees will need to add equipment, like a small grill for cooking eggs or an additional toaster to help accommodate the simultaneous toasting of buns and McMuffins, she said. The average cost of the equipment will range from $500 to $5,000.

Richards said the franchisees involved in the testing and studying of all-day breakfast were overwhelmingly in support.

“They were excited to not have to tell customers at 10:30 (a.m.), ‘Sorry, we can’t serve you breakfast,’ ” Richards said. “It’s nice when you can give people what they want, what they’ve been asking for.”

The fraught relationship between McDonald’s and its franchisees has been well-documented. But Andres said he thought the development and consensus-building around all-day breakfast will serve as a model for taking on future challenges.

Restaurants that serve all-day breakfast will continue to serve other core menu items like the Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder with Cheese, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said Tuesday. But regions will be able to determine what, if any, changes to menu items are needed, based on local preferences.

In markets where McMuffins are offered but not biscuits, the menu will include popular sandwiches like Egg McMuffins and Sausage McMuffins. In biscuit markets, items like the Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit and Sausage Biscuits will be sold. In markets where both are sold, the all-day breakfast menu will also include hotcakes, sausage burritos, fruit and yogurt parfaits, oatmeal and hash browns.

R.J. Hottovy, a Morningstar analyst, said Tuesday that all-day breakfast might not “move the needle” much in terms of improving sales or profits.

But Hottovy said the decision showed McDonald’s willingness to meet consumer demand, while also being flexible to the needs of franchisees so they can adjust their own menu to local tastes.

“It does create a sense of buzz,” Hottovy said. “It brings a level of excitement to the company that we haven’t seen in a while. ... This company needs some positive news, and this is probably a step in that direction.”