McDonald's Announces All-Day Breakfast Starting October 6

For years, we've been patiently awaiting this moment: ordering an Egg McMuffin past 10:30 a.m.

Yes, we're ashamed to admit that we're stoked about McDonald’s' recent announcement to sell breakfast menu items all day, every day, at each of its more than 14,000 restaurants nationwide. It seems like we're never up early enough to snag breakfast from 5 a.m. through that five-hour window before they shut down the McGriddle machine. The extra half-hour on the weekends doesn't help either.

Beginning October 6, all McDonald’s restaurants located in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties will begin serving all-day breakfast — the number-one request from customers in the past year. The move to serve an all-day breakfast will be the fast-food giant's biggest operational change since rolling out its McCafe menu of coffee and espresso drinks in 2009. 

For some markets, including San Diego, it's old news, however. McDonald’s has been testing all-day breakfast in select markets since March, but the move to expand services across the country was approved by a franchisee vote last week and confirmed by a franchisee leadership council yesterday.

The switch to offering an all-day breakfast menu comes three years after the company posted its first drop in revenue back in October 2012, and the expansion marks the latest initiative under McDonald's chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, whose goal is to help enliven the restaurant's image.

So what's taken so long? According to restaurant operators, it's about safety and money. Because McDonald’s restaurants are built to produce lunch and dinner menu items using the same equipment that makes breakfast, operators say they needed separate grills and toasters to keep each process running smoothly. For some stores, that could mean an investment of $500 to $5,000 on new equipment, a McDonald’s spokeswoman said.

After 10:30 a.m., the following menu items will be available across the South Florida market all day, including: McMuffin sandwiches, egg McMuffin, sausage McMuffin with egg, sausage McMuffin, breakfast platters, hotcakes with sausage, hotcakes, sausage burritos, and sides like the Fruit ‘N Yogurt Parfait, Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, and hash browns.

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.