OAK BROOK, Ill. -- In what may be the boldest menu experiment in McDonald’s turnaround efforts to date, the burger giant is testing variations of the Big Mac.
According to a report on RestaurantBusinessOnline, one riff is the Grand Mac, which takes the Big Mac—two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame-seed bun—and upsizes it with one-third of a pound of beef, two pieces of cheese and a larger bun. The Grand Mac will be priced in test markets at $4.89, according to reports.
At the other end of the spectrum is the Mac Jr., a version made with a single 1.6-ounce patty. The smaller Mac is easier to eat on the go, according to McDonald’s, which confirmed that the price will fall between $2.39 and $2.59.
The two variations are being tested in Columbus, Ohio, and Dallas-Fort Worth ahead of a potential national rollout, Fortune reported.
McDonald’s also recently revealed that it will once again sell Johnsonville Brats, albeit for a limited time.
Starting April 25, the grilled sausages will return to menus at 125 McDonald’s locations in southeast Wisconsin, Fortune reports. A McDonald’s spokesperson told the magazine that this is a limited-time offer, lasting until May 22.
The brats were introduced to McDonald’s menus back in 1998, but they haven’t been served at the chain since 2009.
Through such menu variation, McDonald’s has begun to recover from a multiyear downward spiral in the United States. The chain saw its U.S. same-store sales grow 5.7% in the quarter ending Dec. 3. The boost was largely the result of tests such as all-day breakfast that McDonald’s implemented and a return to its original way of making Egg McMuffins, using real butter vs. margarine on its buns.
McDonald's - Double Double Sweepstakes (QPC & Brats) - 2002 from ADwërks on Vimeo.
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