McDonald's brings brats back to Midwestern menus

brat fork

McDonald’s is reaching back seven years to deliver on its promise to meet local tastes, resurrecting a brat on a roll in about 125 units in Wisconsin.

The brat reportedly hasn’t appeared regionally or nationally on a McDonald’s menu since 2009. The product’s revival comes as Burger King is touting a new value-price hot dog. A number of other quick-service chains, from Sonic to Checkers/Rally’s, are also spotlighting franks this spring.

Brat are as much of a Wisconsin fixture as cheese curds, dinner clubs and blocks of cheddar.

They’re among the local products that McDonald’s is permitting franchisees to try as part of a strategic effort to meet local tastes more directly. Stores in Canada and New England, for instance, have featured lobster rolls.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Financing

Shoppers apparently returned to stores on Black Friday

The Bottom Line: Holiday shopping season isn’t what it used to be as more than half of consumers get most of their gifts online. But they were more likely to shop inside stores last weekend.

Food

How one small burger chain is staying ahead of the curve

POS provider Toast pinpoints 15 burger trends impacting menus now and into 2025, and Nashville’s Pharmacy Burger is nailing most of them.

Financing

Most consumers now consider convenience stores viable alternatives to fast food

The Bottom Line: More than half of U.S. consumers now believe convenience-store prepared food is a good alternative to quick-service chains. Did value drive that change?

Trending

More from our partners