# Why don't Mcdonalds serve their breakfast menu all day? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569 "2010-02-03T19:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/61 "2010-02-05T14:50:15Z")
I occasionally go into my local MickeyD’s at 11:05 and watch people fight over the remaining breakfast items. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/62 "2010-02-05T17:46:37Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > They’re currently building Sonics like mad in my area. Woohoo thanks for mentioning this. There were no Sonics anywhere near me and I had given up on them. But after your post I looked it up and there is one just build within a mile of me(in the direction I never go). 🙂 Strawberry shake for lunch!! ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/63 "2010-02-05T18:36:34Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Strawberry shake for lunch!! And it was spectacular. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/64 "2010-02-05T18:49:50Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > And it was spectacular. Why am I suddenly picturing Teri Hatcher serving you a strawberry shake? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/65 "2010-02-05T19:05:00Z")
> [@Driver8](#): > > I have the opposite problem. I eat a very early lunch, but they won’t make me a burger at 10am. As others have suggested, I am sure they have crunched the numbers and determined that catering to my whims is not profitable. I’ve encountered this very situation, multiple times (finding that a business has determined that catering to my whims is not profitable for them)! My response is usually along the lines of" _Why the hell should I give a damn about what’s profitable for YOU? MY WHIMS aren’t being catered to, and that’s what’s important here!_ It’s depressing how rarely that approach gets me what I want. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/66 "2010-02-05T19:30:54Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > As mentioned above, some McDonalds had breakfast all day and they stopped it after a while. > > [History | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214758,00.html) > [http://consumerist.com/2007/02/all-day-breakfast-is-coming-to-mcdonalds.html](http://consumerist.com/2007/02/all-day-breakfast-is-coming-to-mcdonalds.html) > > It looks like they took another strong look at it a few years back, but I haven’t seen any evidence that they followed through with it. Thanks for the posts. It looks like they are seriously looking at this from an engineering standpoint. $10,000 would be nothing in the way of an upgrade so they’re looking at what it would really take to do this for all the chains. Maybe it’s dead, maybe they’re planning a secret ninja attack on Sonic. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/67 "2010-02-05T21:03:39Z")
> [@Wisp00](#): > > Actually, that’s still what they do at McDonalds - the patties are preshaped and frozen before they get to the restaurant, but they’re still raw meat and are actually cooked on the grill. The trays you see are only keeping the patties warm, not microwaving or cooking them. They make a grillfull of patties at a time, then put them in the tray to keep warm until they are needed, but do not assemble the burger until you order it. > The burgers are only allowed to stay in the warming tray for a specific amount of time (I think it’s 15 or 20 minutes. Not sure, but it’s something reasonable.) After that they’re not supposed to be used anymore. Ahhh, ok. I was under the impression the burgers at least partially pre-cooked before even arriving at the McDonalds. Ignorance fought! That could explain why no breakfast in the off hours then, if the food has to be prepared ahead of time. I would imagine the demand for it would be very sparse and tend to clump up, making it difficult to anticipate how much to have prepared at one time. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/68 "2010-02-05T21:14:45Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’ve encountered this very situation, multiple times (finding that a business has determined that catering to my whims is not profitable for them)! > > My response is usually along the lines of" _Why the hell should I give a damn about what’s profitable for YOU? MY WHIMS aren’t being catered to, and that’s what’s important here!_ > > It’s depressing how rarely that approach gets me what I want. ☹ You too? 😃 I’m like **NBYodo** - I want a Big Mac for breakfast, not that crap they serve instead. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/69 "2010-02-06T15:52:21Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’ve encountered this very situation, multiple times (finding that a business has determined that catering to my whims is not profitable for them)! > > My response is usually along the lines of" _Why the hell should I give a damn about what’s profitable for YOU? MY WHIMS aren’t being catered to, and that’s what’s important here!_ > > It’s depressing how rarely that approach gets me what I want. ☹ If you want your whims catered do, start your own goddamn international fast food franchise! ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/70 "2010-02-06T18:59:52Z")
I was thinking that if they did not have a deadline for when breakfast stops, then it might hurt sales in the long run. It’s the “urgency factor” for lack of a better description. If you know that McD’s or whomever stops serving b-fast at 10:30 and you really really really want a McGriddle then you’re going to hightail it over there before the deadline. But, if you know they serve them all day but you don’t really feel like getting in the car at 10:05 to zip over there, your craving might go away after you’ve had your morning nap. Then you end up not buying anything from them at all that day. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/71 "2010-02-06T21:40:46Z")
> [@Jamicat](#): > > all i want is an egg mc muffin after 10:30 on the weekends. > > Ive tried several ways to make em at home…they just don’t come out with that mc cheepness perfection. > > the other thing i want is a REAL BIG MAC, you know the ones with beef patties in em. > and not them silver dollar sized mc meat discs…:mad: > > I wonder what it be like with two quarter pound patties on it?..and call THAT a BIG MAC and that other thing a Mc JuniorMac for the dollar menu. You could try Carl’s Jr’s new Big Carl. It tastes very similiar and it’s huge. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/72 "2010-02-06T21:50:08Z")
No kidding. And pretty tasty, too. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/73 "2010-02-07T03:48:12Z")
> [@HelloKitty](#): > > I was thinking that if they did not have a deadline for when breakfast stops, then it might hurt sales in the long run. It’s the “urgency factor” for lack of a better description. Agreed. The breakfast is “special” because it is not always available. Getting McD’s breakfast is a minor event in my family. I think it would lose that if we could get it any time, anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/74 "2010-02-07T07:05:29Z")
This thread is REALLY making me wish that NYC had Jack In the Box…they even wear uniforms which say “we won’t ask why you’re hungry at this hour” on the back. They’re almost as fast as McDonalds in food delivery (and the time difference can easily be forgiven in the quality of food difference) and yet serve their ENTIRE menu 24 hours a day, in a kitchen which is the same size as mcDonalds. I won’t even eat breakfast at McDonalds anymore (and I haven’t eaten “dinner” there in nearly a year now), but I’d give anything for one of Jack’s Breakfast Bowls right now. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569/75 "2010-02-09T17:42:10Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > If you want your whims catered do, start your own goddamn international fast food franchise! but part of my whims is that I don’t have to run a business… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-mcdonalds-serve-their-breakfast-menu-all-day/527569.md?page=3)