Yahoo Finance McDonald’s brings back bagels as one way to offset California wage hike
Ba da ba ba bagels.
Bagels are back at McDonald’s — but could the California wage hike be the reason why?
After the state’s $20 minimum wage mandate for fast-food workers went into effect, McDonald’s Corp. assembled a task force, called the “Rise and Dominate” team, to come up with ways to offset the rising costs, Bloomberg reported — and reviving the discontinued bagels is part of the plan.
Fan-favorite bagel breakfast sandwiches have been reintroduced at McDonald’s locations in California with the hope that they will help boost store traffic.
McDonald’s first introduced the breakfast bagel with egg and a protein in 1999, but stopped serving bagels as a standalone item on its all-day breakfast menu in 2020.
The fast-food chain is also spending $15 million on local advertising in the state, though it is rare that the company would promote its products in just one state.
“In response to California legislation, McDonald’s stood up a dedicated team of staff and franchisees to co-invest and work collaboratively on an action plan to help operators drive sales, grow share and increase restaurant profitability,” the company said in a statement to The Post.
“This team has gathered best practices from around the world where municipalities have managed wage increases and will pilot innovative short and long-term solutions for California. Our goal is to ensure our business model is set up to prosper for the long term, and that it continues to best serve our customers, crew members, communities and franchisees.”
One McDonald’s franchisee group shared with Bloomberg that the new law is a “devastating financial blow” — estimating it would cost each location $250,000.
The law, AB-1228, impacts fast-food establishments with more than 60 locations nationwide, including Starbucks, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.
Franchisees own about 95% of McDonald’s locations in the US and set their own prices and expressed concerns that charging more for menu items would result in losing customers.
“Reintroducing Bagel Sandwiches, a longtime fan-favorite, earlier this year is an example of one traffic-driving lever we’re pulling in California,” according to McDonald’s USA.
Though the California law only affects, well, California, it seems as though bagels are back at locations across America.
A public spreadsheet shows locations from California to even New York as more and more customers seek out the highly demanded bagels.
Additionally, the McDonald’s online menu lists the following McDonald’s Breakfast Bagel options as available “at participating McDonald’s”: Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bagel; Sausage, Egg & Cheese Bagel; and Steak, Egg & Cheese Bagel.
