Wendy's to Bring Breakfast Nationwide in 2020
Back in 2015, McDonald's made huge new by introducing all-day breakfast — and breathed some life into the brand in the process. Now, Wendy's is hoping the first meal of the day can help boost its own sales: The chain has announced it'll finally bring breakfast… well, to the morning.
Wendy's plans to add breakfast to all of its nearly 6,000 locations across the United States in 2020, a huge increase from the mere 300 or so locations that serve breakfast now. To support this massive nationwide expansion into the morning hours, the company and its franchises are expecting to hire around 20,000 new employees. And to get things rolling, Wendy's says adding breakfast will require an investment of about $20 million.
But unless you are interested in some part-time work, you're probably more interested in what items you'll be able to order. "The menu features signature items that takes the best of Wendy's, from Applewood smoked bacon to the Frosty, and creatively delivers them to fans for breakfast," the chain explains. The brand bills its "signature items" as the Breakfast Baconator, Frosty-ccino, and Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit.
As the name implies, the Breakfast Baconator takes Wendy's Baconator burger and gives it a morning twist, swapping a sausage patty and eggs for its usual beef. (Don't worry the cheese and six slices of Applewood-smoked bacon remain!) The Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit is more straightforward, reimagining a crispy chicken sandwich with a honey butter-adorned biscuit to make it feel more suitable for pre-noon consumption. Finally, the Frosty-ccino takes Wendy's popular Frosty ice cream and spikes it with cold brew coffee — a kind of decadent Frappuccino.
"Launching breakfast in our U.S. restaurants nationwide provides incredible growth opportunities," Todd Penegor, president and CEO of The Wendy's Company, said in the announcement. "We are well-positioned to pursue it. We believe we have the right team and structure in place, and we put Wendy's fan favorites on our breakfast menu to set us apart from the competition." At the very least, they have the right social media team in place.
