McDonald’s U.S. president Joe Erlinger let slip this week that a sandwich with a cult following is making a comeback.
The McRib — boneless, seasoned pulled pork smothered in spicy barbecue sauce and topped with diced onions and pickles — is coming back to the U.S. later this year.
The sandwich, which has been removed and then added back to the menu dozens of times over the years, polarizes fast food fans: Some love it, but others hate it.
But McDonald’s knows that the McRib brings customers to restaurants and drive-thru locations.
Its return will be its latest weapon, along with its $5 meal deal this summer, in the battle to win back customers in 2024.
The McRib sandwich will be available again in 2024. It was first sold in 1982.
“Bringing back the McRib for a limited time will stimulate some interest and foot traffic for McDonald’s at a time when performance is declining,” retail expert Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, told DailyMail.com.
But he explained why McDonald’s is only selling it for a limited time, rather than having it as a permanent menu item.
“The improvement is usually only temporary, so the chain still has work to do in areas such as pricing if it wants to ensure better performance,” he added.
McRib will return later in 2024
The McRib, which has been described as the “fast food sandwich that went viral before it existed,” debuted nationally in the US in 1982.
It was discontinued in 1985 due to poor sales, but then returned in 1989 and was widely available in the US and other countries until 2005.
It was then reintroduced periodically until disappearing again in 2012 for eight years. It didn’t return until December 2020, when it returned for a limited time.
At the time, it was an attempt to lure back customers after the pandemic left their dining rooms sparsely populated or closed.
The McRib is an elusive prize for fans, who scour the internet for reports of it appearing in limited locations over a short period of time.
There is even a website called McRib Locator, created to disseminate information about McDonald’s restaurants that offer it.
In the past, the McRib has been credited with attracting customers and increasing the chain’s sales.
For example, a ‘farewell tour’ of the cult favorite in November 2022 helped boost sales into double digits.
Bosses said that would be the last time the McRib would be sold. But it also reappeared in November 2023.
This week, President Joe Erlinger said, “It’s coming later this year. The McRib will be back.”
He was being interviewed in Hoy to promote the new $5 value meal. At the end of the keynote talk with the hosts, meteorologist Al Roker jokingly asked about the McRib, and that’s when Erlinger gave the update.
It’s not impossible to get a McRib whenever you want, but you have to travel. Germany has had it on the menu year-round for a while. He returned to Canada in January of this year.
It’s the latest fan-favorite item to make a comeback. In April, we reported how McDonald’s brought bagels back to its breakfast menu.
Fans rejoiced when the McRib returned in 2020 for the first time in eight years
McDonald’s is once again offering breakfast bagels in four varieties, including the sausage variant pictured.
Facebook groups have emerged calling for the return of bagels at McDonald’s
Bagel fans have been posting memes about McDonald’s bagels.
Bagels aren’t yet available nationwide, but they are present in at least 1,200 restaurants and could return to all 14,300 U.S. locations by the end of this year.
Bagels were first introduced at McDonald’s in late 2019, but were removed shortly after when bosses simplified the menu in spring 2020 during the pandemic.
Since then, fans on Twitter, Reddit and Facebook have been calling for their return.
They’re so popular that a Facebook group has sprung up with 13,000 members called Where’s My McDonald’s Bagel?