When Did Wendy's Start Serving Breakfast?
Compiled from Wendy's press releases, earnings calls, the Los Angeles Times (1986), QSR Magazine, Adweek and Business Insider · updated 2026-09-19
Wendy's began serving breakfast nationwide on March 2, 2020. That was the fourth attempt. The first was a made-to-order omelet menu launched July 1, 1985 and pulled after nine months; the second was a low-key test that began around 2006–07; the third was a 2010 six-market rollout under CEO Roland Smith that stalled at 600–700 restaurants and was shut down in early 2013. The 2020 launch, announced September 9, 2019 with a $20 million investment and 20,000 new hires, reached all but 80 of 5,850 US restaurants on day one. So the answer depends on the question: Wendy's first served breakfast in 1985, has served it somewhere almost continuously since 2007, and has served it everywhere since 2020 — though since February 2026 franchisees may opt out, and about 27% have.
| Attempt | Dates | Scale | Signature items | Why it ended |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 1, 1985 – spring 1986 | System-wide (about 3,000 US stores) | Made-to-order omelets, French toast, breakfast sandwiches | Service speed — "We made every omelet to order" (Dave Thomas, LA Times, 1986) |
| 2 | c. 2006/07 – 2010 | A limited number of restaurants | Biscuit sandwiches, "Frescuits", coffee | Folded into the 2010 test rather than ended |
| 3 | 2010 – early 2013 | 6 test markets → 600–700 stores; target was 1,000 by end-2011 | Artisan Egg Sandwich, Mornin' Melt Panini, Bacon Fire-Roasted Burrito, oatmeal bar | Weekly sales ~$2,700 at some stores (below breakeven); food cost 150–200 bps higher; McDonald's counter-marketing; franchisees didn't buy in |
| 4 | Mar 2, 2020 – present | Nationwide (5,770 of 5,850 stores at launch) | Breakfast Baconator, Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit, Frosty-ccino, croissants | Ongoing; franchise opt-out allowed from Feb 13, 2026 |
The 1985 launch: nine months of omelets
Wendy's first breakfast went live on July 1, 1985, and it failed on speed, not taste. The menu was built around omelets cooked to order at the grill, alongside French toast and sandwiches. At a time when McDonald's had been assembling Egg McMuffins since 1972 and had a full breakfast menu from 1977, a made-to-order omelet meant a drive-thru line that moved at the pace of an egg pan. Founder R. David Thomas put it plainly to the Los Angeles Times in 1986: "The biggest problem we had was a service problem. We made every omelet to order." Corporate stopped mandating breakfast after roughly nine months and left the decision to individual franchisees, most of whom dropped it. The episode is the reason "Wendy's breakfast" was a punchline in the industry for 30 years — and the model for what happened in 2026, when the decision was again handed to franchisees.
2006–2013: the tests that never went national
Wendy's quietly resumed breakfast in a small number of restaurants around 2006–07, then made a serious push in 2010 that reached 600–700 stores before being cancelled in early 2013. The 2007-era menu was biscuit-based (the "Frescuit" was a hot-and-fresh biscuit sandwich). In 2010, under CEO Roland Smith, Wendy's tested an upmarket lineup — an Artisan Egg Sandwich with Asiago and hollandaise on a honey-wheat muffin, a Mornin' Melt Panini, a Bacon Fire-Roasted Burrito, seasoned home-style potatoes, an oatmeal bar and a premium coffee — in Kansas City, Shreveport, San Antonio, Phoenix, Louisville and Pittsburgh, with a goal of 1,000 restaurants by the end of 2011. Corporate offered two to three years of royalty abatement, limited the hours and menu to control labour, and still couldn't make the numbers work: QSR Magazine later reported average weekly breakfast sales as low as $2,700 at some stores, food costs 150–200 basis points above non-breakfast units, and McDonald's buying up outdoor advertising and discounting in the test markets. The effort halted in early 2013, and in 2014 CEO Emil Brolick told Bloomberg it was "very difficult to enter that space today." Roughly 300 restaurants kept serving breakfast through the late 2010s, which is where the 2020 menu was refined.
March 2, 2020: the nationwide launch
Wendy's announced the national rollout on September 9, 2019 and launched it on Monday, March 2, 2020 — thirteen days before COVID-19 closed dining rooms. The company committed a one-time $20 million (menu boards, a national recruiting campaign), cut its 2019 earnings forecast to pay for it, and said it and franchisees would hire 20,000 people. The marketing budget was $70–80 million; the target was a 6–8% lift in systemwide sales ($650–870 million). Only 80 of 5,850 US restaurants did not participate. The launch menu carried three new signature items — the Breakfast Baconator, the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit and the Frosty-ccino — plus croissant and biscuit sandwiches, the Maple Bacon Chicken Croissant, Seasoned Potatoes and fresh-cracked eggs, with a free Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit in the app through April 6 and a free Breakfast Baconator promotion on DoorDash. Hours were set at opening to 10:30 AM from the start; there has never been an all-day version. Despite the pandemic timing, breakfast reached about 8% of US sales by late 2020, later settling at 5–5.5%.
2020–2026: what changed after launch
The menu grew for five years and then the daypart began to contract. French Toast Sticks arrived in August 2022; Canada launched breakfast nationally in May 2022; the Frosty Cream Cold Brew replaced the Frosty-ccino on July 24, 2023; the permanent 2 for $3 Breakfast Biggie Bundle began August 28, 2023; Breakfast Burritos and English Muffin sandwiches were added in 2024; the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit was renamed Honey Buddy in 2025 alongside a $1 biscuit promotion (July 14–about August 21, 2025). Then, on October 13, 2025, thirteen Capital Region New York stores dropped breakfast; on February 13, 2026, Wendy's confirmed under its "Project Fresh" turnaround that franchisees could opt out of breakfast; Charlotte's stores served their last on February 15, 2026; and by September 2026, 1,512 of 5,635 US stores (26.8%) no longer serve it. The dated detail is on the news log and the availability page.
Frequently asked questions
Did Wendy's used to have breakfast before 2020?
Yes — nationally for nine months in 1985–86, and in several hundred test restaurants between roughly 2007 and 2019.
Why did Wendy's stop serving breakfast in 1986?
Speed. Every omelet was made to order, and drive-thru times could not compete with McDonald's pre-assembled sandwiches.
What year did Wendy's start breakfast nationwide?
2020 — March 2, 2020, at all but 80 US restaurants.
Has Wendy's ever served breakfast all day?
No. Every version, from 1985 to today, has been a morning-only daypart.
Related: Does Wendy's still serve breakfast? · News log · Breakfast menu