OAK BROOK Ill. McDonald’s is urging all of its 13,700 U.S. restaurants to open at 5 a.m. daily to meet customers’ increasingly earlier breakfast times.
About 75 percent of the domestic restaurants already open around 5 a.m., according to a spokeswoman. But McDonald’s USA president Don Thompson told 16,000 unit managers attending a Las Vegas conference that the chain would like to standardize the start time. The longer hours could boost McDonald’s unit sales, which now average close to $2 million. McDonald’s is also one of several quick-service chains that have pushed back the closing times of their stores.
“Customer lifestyles continue to change, and commutes are becoming longer. There is an opportunity to serve them either earlier or later,” said the spokeswoman.
The push to standardize the 5 a.m. opening time comes as Wendy’s is striving to have breakfast service in place at 650 restaurants by summer’s end and Starbucks adds warm breakfast sandwiches to additional markets.
Burger King rolled out a breakfast value menu earlier this year, after upgrading its coffee last year, and Wendy’s changed its coffee blend this summer.
