In 2015, McDonald’s made an announcement that was joyous news for fans everywhere: Breakfast would now be served all day, every day. All-day breakfast was the chain’s number one request from customers, with more than 120,000 patron pleas flooding in via Twitter in just one year. But in 2020, only five years after all-day breakfast was born, Mickey D’s discontinued it. Many believed the COVID-19 pandemic was to blame, with major news outlets reporting that to be the case. However, TikToker and former McDonald’s corporate chef Mike Haracz claimed that the pandemic actually had nothing to do with all-day breakfast getting nixed.
@chefmikeharacz Replying to @ChetNorris1 Former #McDonalds corporate chef talks about all day breakfast. #mcdonaldssecrets #mcdonaldsccsing #fastfoodstories #fastfoodlife #fastfood #foodtiktok #foodtok #McDonaldsTikTok #mcdonaldschallenge #mcdonaldshacks #fyp #breakfast #breakfastideas #breakfastclub #breakfasttime #breakfastchallenge
♬ original sound – Chef Mike Haracz
According to Haracz, the fast food giant wanted to eradicate round-the-clock breakfast long before the pandemic provided a handy excuse. While patrons loved the unlimited ability to order an Egg McMuffin — which marks its 50th birthday in 2025 and is the only McDonald’s breakfast sandwich that includes a fresh egg — franchise owner-operators were not “lovin’ it,” in terms of complexities associated with the extended morning offerings. “It was what they call ‘operationally complex,'” the former McDonald’s employee explained in their video.
Splitting kitchen and appliance space between breakfast items and foods for lunch and dinner meant an increased workload for McD’s crew members, who had to cook food more often to restock the restaurant’s universal holding cabinets (those warming ovens that keep McDonald’s cooked-ahead foods hot and ready). Juggling both breakfast foods and the other items was also confusing for workers and overly taxing in already congested and bustling kitchens, putting a strain on speedy service.
McDonald’s all-day breakfast is not likely to return
After pulling the plug on all-day breakfast, McDonald’s claimed that the service would be revived as soon as possible. As of February 2025, however, breakfast at the Golden Arches still ends around 10:30 or 11 a.m., depending on location.
The company reported a jump in sales following the advent of the all-day breakfast menu, specifically attributing the revenue boost to its breakfast expansion. Nevertheless, odds are good that McDonald’s won’t be going back to its pre-COVID morning menu timetable, for a few different reasons. Despite the initial sales bump, McD’s began losing its stronghold in the breakfast arena as time passed. Company executives also expressed concerns that the restaurant chain was actually undercutting sales of its other menu items by offering lower-cost breakfast foods all day alongside them. These factors collided with the abundant complaints from franchisees about the operational difficulties of serving breakfast all day.
After all-day breakfast got the boot, McDonald’s reported achieving considerably faster service times at its locations, as workers were able to focus better and work faster with fewer menu items to contend with. Too many choices can also slow things on the customer’s end, with decision fatigue causing patrons to take much longer to order. A simplified menu likely made it easier for diners to make a quicker decision and move along, further speeding up McDonald’s overall service. Though many patrons were upset about the elimination of all-day breakfast, customer satisfaction scores nevertheless soared in the wake of its demise.
