Wendy's Says 'Good Morning' With New English Muffin Sandwiches
In the fast food breakfast world, Wendy's may seem like a relatively new kid on the block. After an unsuccessful attempt to conquer the breakfast crowd with items such as omelets, French toast, and coffee in the 1980s, it rejoined the early morning fray in 2020. Compared to some chains — most notably McDonald's — Wendy's breakfast offerings may have seemed limited with its assorted croissant sandwiches, an apparent rival to Burger King's own. However, the restaurant chain is now expanding its menu to include English muffin sandwiches — with not just one but two offerings.
According to a press release shared with Mashed, Wendy's will start serving English muffin sandwiches with a choice of either applewood smoked bacon or a grilled sausage patty. The sandwiches also come with a fried egg as well as American cheese and are topped off with brown butter and black pepper. Customers can try the sandwiches for themselves starting on August 22.
The new menu items come as part of a coordinated effort by the company to compete in the breakfast space. For all intents and purposes, it appears to be working. In 2022, Wendy's was poised to overtake Burger King when it came to breakfast sales. Consumers seem to be answering with their wallets about which breakfast croissant they prefer. The chain also added a honey chicken biscuit and french toast sticks to diversify its menu. These new English muffin sandwiches appear to be continuing that initiative. Additionally, Wendy's also appears to be targeting the king of breakfast — McDonald's.
How the McMuffin and English muffin sandwich compare
"When you come for the king, you best not miss" is a saying from the gritty crime show "The Wire," but it also applies here. At this point, McDonald's sausage, egg, and cheese McMuffins are a dominant force in the breakfast fast food industry, so much so that it often ranks number one when McDonald's breakfast items are ranked from worst to best. While we haven't tried Wendy's new English muffin sandwiches and aren't in a position to say whether they are copycats, the similarities between the two are apparent.
However, the new English muffins may be born less from trying to copy McDonald's and more from filling a hole in the menu. Several customers have expressed online a desire to have either an English muffin or bagel option at the restaurant chain. As one person on Reddit wrote, "I like croissants, but they don't work as well as a bagel or English muffin, and they utterly failed at making a breakfast burrito." Wendy's is clearly hoping that desire will translate to sales.
While Wendy's has performed well with its similar-style croissant sandwiches against Burger King, it remains to be seen if the restaurant chain is like Icarus flying too close to the sun. One thing is for certain, consumers are the clear winners in this situation with plenty of options for breakfast.