McDonald’s announced Tuesday that the company will be discontinuing the McCafé Bakery, and phasing out the sale of the three bakery items — the apple fritter, blueberry muffin, and cinnamon roll — from all restaurants. These menu items were first introduced to McCafé in 2020 and are being discontinued this week.
“We’re always listening to our fans and adjusting our menu based on what they crave,” McDonald’s said in an emailed statement confirming the news. “Starting this month, we’ll be phasing out our McCafé Bakery line-up, including the Apple Fritter, Blueberry Muffin and Cinnamon Roll. We know goodbyes are never easy – but fans can still satisfy their sweet tooth with our iconic chocolate chip cookies, baked apple pie and frozen desserts at restaurants nationwide.”
Naturally, the news has not sat well with McDonald’s fans, who have taken to social media to express their disappointment in the decision:
Many of the comments were instead clamoring for the return of Cinnamelts, snack-sized portions of the gooey inside of the cinnamon bun that was popular at McDonald’s in the mid ‘00s but started being phased out from menus around 2017, according to reports on social media.
Of course, this does not mean that McDonald’s is shying away from pastry items altogether. Just the other day, an Instagram account known for leaking new junk food and snack food items, announced that McDonald’s would be adding a cookies and cream pie to the menu alongside the iconic apple pie, and the rumors were confirmed by McDonald’s to media outlets, which stated that the item would be available as an LTO in select markets.
The most buzzed about pastry items at McDonald’s lately are Krispy Kreme doughnuts—a cobranding partnership which began last fall as a test in the Louisville, Ky. market, and has since expanded to 160+ restaurants, as of February earlier this year.
Shrinking menus were more of a feature of pandemic days, when quick-service chains including McDonald’s ditched menu items to improve cost and time efficiency during challenging times.
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