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McGriddles: McDonalds’ New Chicken And Waffle Sandwich

By Manasi Gandhi
Published on: 01:20 PST, Feb 21, 2016

McDonald’s McGriddles is a new chicken-and-pancake breakfast sandwich, packed with the usual calories and priced reasonably, but only available in Ohio for now.

Invented by Brian Mortellaro, who owns and operates eight McDonald’s in Ohio, the Chicken McGriddle consists of a fried chicken patty sandwiched between two maple-infused buns.

Mortellaro, along with a group of taste-testers, presented their idea to the chain, which has agreed to test it in 11 Ohio locations. The local test group also played around with a BLT sandwich and an egg-white creation, but the group decided neither was as good as the sweet-and-savory Chicken McGriddle, reported the Columbus Business First.

The Chicken McGriddle will be available in the Ohio restaurants until March 27, and is being tested at two different prices: $1.49 and $2. The sandwich has 410 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 1.02 grams of sodium. It uses the same patty currently served in McChicken sandwiches. This is based on nutritional information provided by McDonald’s for its McChicken patty and its maple-infused griddle cakes.

Phil Saken, communications manager for McDonald’s Ohio region, told CNBC on Thursday about the plan, saying it’s an “operations test” limited to central Ohio.

He said as follows.

“This test is really centered on this specific sandwich and whether it works in this market and if there’s demand for it.”

He added that the company is monitoring customer feedback, and that a further rollout of the Chicken McGriddle would be limited to the region.

If customers give positive reviews and say they would buy it again, the sandwich could be tested in more Ohio locations this year.

Sales will not be the main factor, because the Chicken McGriddle will not be advertised during the test run.

The Big Mac and the Filet-O-Fish, two of McDonald’s best-known sandwiches, were both created by franchisees during the 1960s.

Lou Groen, who owned the first McDonald’s in the Cincinnati area, rolled out the Filet-O-Fish in 1962 to retain his Catholic customers who did not eat meat on Fridays and during Lent. Jim Deligatti, who operated several McDonald’s in the Pittsburgh area, invented the Big Mac in in 1967 and first served it in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

Mortellaro said the following.

“Filet-O-Fish, Big Mac — both of those started with owner-operators. We took this idea up the chain and they’re letting us try it out. It’s a chicken-and-waffles taste. I just think that’s something that isn’t out there right now. Personally, I love the product so I’m hoping it’ll do well. We’ll analyze the results then.”

Mortellaro said McDonald’s is doing a good job at listening to both the customers and owner-operators about what customers want — that’s what drove the so-far successful launch of All Day Breakfast.

Eight of the 11 McDonald’s testing the McGriddle are Mortellaro’s. Two are owned by Oye Olatoye and the third is Jeff Newman’s.

[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]

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