This war may have no loser
See you at the drive through on Feb. 21 at 11:01 a.m. Or is it 10:01 a.m.?
I’ve read there is a war brewing. Percolating. Simmering. Frying, poaching and scrambling.
It’s a breakfast war and in this fight, I cannot imagine how there could be any loser.
Seems some fast-food behemoths have come to the very sane conclusion that the key to our hearts and wallets is eggs and bacon — or sausage or ham or toast and jam. In one corner, we have McDonald’s and in the other, A&W. Fight!
Both chains are preparing to blow our minds and bend time by offering a breakfast menu all day. All day! This is world changing and life altering. Our days of wondering if we will get in under the wire to snag a hotcake (and why are they called “hotcakes” and not “pancakes” by the way?) before 11 a.m. (or is it 10 a.m.? See, this is why the system needs to change) are over. We will be able to go to either of these restaurants and order from the breakfast menu any time we want.
This is truly a revelation but it’s one of those revelations that you think, “Really? It took until 2017 to figure out that a person might want to eat an egg after 11 a.m.? Or is it 10 a.m.?”
Starting Feb. 21, that cut-off time won’t matter. McDonald’s will serve McMuffin sandwiches and hash browns, as well as hotcakes and sausages past the normal breakfast cut-off time. A week later, over at A&W, you can get an Egger sandwich or wrap, as well as hash browns, at any time of day.
It’s only right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I don’t always have the time or the appetite for it at 7 or 8 in the morning. It’s very convenient for me to put off breakfast until later in the day and some days I might even grab a quick breakfast on the drive home from work.
Plus there are shift workers. Not everyone works 9 to 5 and why should a person starting a shift at 8 p.m. or 11 p.m. or whenever be forced to grab a burger and fries for their first meal of the day? Of course this raises a larger question about why breakfast foods are even breakfast foods. Why is it normal to eat eggs and bacon in the morning and not so normal to eat, oh, I don’t know, fried chicken? It all seems rather arbitrary so the all-day breakfast menu wins for practical and philosophical reasons.
Of course, the real motivation for cracking the breakfast ceiling is consumer demand. McDonald’s and A&W both say customers want breakfast foods when they want them and not when society says they can have them — before 11, or 10.
According to NPD data, Canadians consumed nearly 536 million breakfast sandwiches last year — up nearly 49 million compared to previous years. Breakfast is a big growth opportunity for restaurants and they are going to try to capitalize on our love for eggs and cured meats.
All-day breakfast will be a major convenience and it also offers unlimited potential variety. Not only can we choose between an Egger or a Papa Burger or a McMuffin or a Big Mac, we can mix and match breakfast with stuff that isn’t breakfast. Quarter pounder with hash browns or pancakes with a shake, for example. Why not?
Of course, this is big business. Millions of dollars and careers could be on the line depending on how Canadians react to this shift in our dining habits and options. See you at the drive through on Feb. 21 at 11:01 a.m. Or 10:01 a.m. Whichever.