McDonald’s menu items will return after coronavirus reductions

NEW YORK -- McDonald’s will be bringing back some of its menu items that had to be cut when the coronavirus hit the U.S.

The fast-food chain cut much of its menu -- including all-day breakfast, salads, grilled chicken and chicken tenders -- in order to speed up service for its drive-thrus and delivery since dining rooms were closed.

However, at least some of those dishes that had been removed will return to the menu, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said Tuesday.

“ limited menu served a purpose for a period of time, but we have to be also attentive to what the customers are looking for when they come to a McDonald’s and I think it’s going to vary market by market,” Kempczinski said at a virtual conference hosted by Evercore ISI, according to Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN).

“Whether it goes all the way back to where we were pre-COVID, I think that's probably unlikely. But I think it's equally unlikely that we're going to stay with the current menu,” Kempczinski added.

He did not say what specific items would be returning or when.

Aside from limiting its menu, McDonald’s also put several projects on hold, including introducing baked goods to the breakfast menu and adding new chicken dishes, NRN reported.

Earlier this month, the National Owners Association at McDonald’s said its members wanted to keep the reduced menu permanently.

"The limited menu and ease of operations are allowing our teams to focus and provide blazing fast service," Blake Casper, chairman of the independent franchisee association, said in an update to the association’s members. The news was originally reported by Restaurant Business Online.

"We are convinced,” Casper added. “Keeping our menus simplified is your NOA's number one priority.”

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