Fast Food Feast

Here come the McRibs

Although McDonald’s, the fast-food giant based in Oak Brook, Ill., boasts that it has sold more than 35 billion hamburgers since its founding in 1955, the chain’s fastest-growing offering in recent years has been its breakfast menu, which features eggs and pancakes and accounts for 18% of sales. The firm is also touting McChicken, a fried chicken sandwich that will be on sale in 60% of the chain’s 6,500 units by year’s end. Rival Burger King is now selling a sandwich-style version of veal parmigiana. And Jack in the Box has a growing line of Supreme sandwiches, including ham, bacon, lettuce and tomato garnished with alfalfa sprouts and served on whole wheat bread.

After 25 years of spectacular growth, U.S. fast-food eateries number 100,000, or one for every 2,300 Americans. But the chains must increasingly develop new products to set themselves off from the pack and boost sales. The public wants more variety and quality. To build evening dining traffic, some Burger King restaurants in California and other states are offering candlelight dinners on cloth-covered tables.

Hamburger sales are suffering because of the calorie-conscious American public’s desire to eat less beef. At almost all of the 2,180 Wendy’s, for example, there are now salad bars, which have been big attractions for dieters.

Some industry analysts on Wall Street believe changing customer tastes and growing competition will mean the end to the fast-food boom. Says Roger Lipton, head of restaurant research for Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co.: “What America doesn’t need is another hamburger or taco stand. The days of the industry’s phenomenal profits and unlimited growth potential are gone.”

Yet fast-food executives insist that there is no need for pessimism. They concede that high interest rates have generally slowed expansion, but point out that profits are still growing at a respectable 15% to 20% a year. Indeed, for the third quarter McDonald’s reported record earnings of $76 million, a gain of 19% over last year. Increases were also reported by Kentucky Fried Chicken, the second largest American chain in sales, as well as by Wendy’s and Burger King. And to keep sales up, McDonald’s has prepared still another addition to its menu, a barbecued pork sandwich, which is being tested in 65 restaurants. The firm that produced the Big Mac, the Egg McMuffin, McChicken and Chicken McNuggets has named the new pork sandwich McRib.