The breakfast battle has been heating up as chains like McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts and Taco Bell have been pushing early morning offerings as a way to attract consumers who are juggling busy schedules and long commutes. In the past five years, fast food breakfast visits have grown by 7.7% with a spending increase of 31%.
We used the ScrapeHero Store data for the top fast-food breakfast chains – Starbucks, McDonald’s, Subway, Chick-fil-A, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Sonic, and Panera Bread – to find the average number of stores per chain that open at a particular time
Insights in Brief
- McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts open most stores at 5 AM.
- Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Sonic, and Panera Bread open most stores at 6 AM.
- Taco Bell and Subway open most stores at 7 AM.
You can download all fast-food locations and more from our data store
Each bar chart in this article shows the average number of fast-food stores per day for each opening time.
When does Starbucks Open for Breakfast?
Starbucks locations open between 4 AM and 8 AM (local time), with the most number of stores open between 5 AM and 6 AM. Being a popular coffee chain Starbucks has made itself ubiquitous to serving fast food breakfast.
All 15,130 Starbucks locations usually start serving breakfast when they open and have all-day breakfast.
When does McDonald’s Open for Breakfast?
McDonald’s opens stores between the earliest fast food breakfast hours between 4 AM and 7 AM, with the most number of stores opening at 5 AM. More than 20% of McDonald’s customers come in during breakfast time, making it a major player among chains serving fast food breakfast.
McDonald’s breakfast offerings have become a valuable part of its business holding around 25% of the breakfast market share. In 2015, McDonald’s started offering breakfast items at all McDonald’s, all day long.
When does Subway Open for Breakfast?
Of the 24,100 Subway locations, 77% open stores between 7 AM and 9 AM.
If you are looking for customizable breakfast sandwiches, you will have to get there early as Subway does not serve breakfast past 11AM.
When does Chick-fil-A Open for Breakfast?
Most Chick-fil-A restaurants open at 6 AM. Chick-fil-A’s breakfast hours can vary by location but typically start at 6 AM and close at 10:30 AM.
Chick-fil-A has a pretty strong breakfast offering even though it only has Chick-fil-A in the US.
When does Dunkin Donuts Open for Breakfast?
Most Dunkin Donuts chains open at 5 AM and offer breakfast all day.
Dunkin Donuts has become one of the leading coffee and baked goods chain with Dunkin Donuts in the US. In Oct 2019, Dunkin Donuts breakfast menu released the Beyond Sausage Sandwich made from Beyond Meat’s plant-based meat, across cities in New York and is now serving it nationwide all-day long.
When does Burger King Open for Breakfast?
About 70% of Burger King open at 6 AM to begin serving breakfast and usually closes breakfast by 10.30 AM.
Burger King’s breakfast menu started in the 1970s and now has more than 20 breakfast offerings at the chain. In Jan 2020, Burger King introduced a new breakfast sandwich using plant-based meat from Impossible Foods. Impossible Foods sandwiches are available in 6,290 Burger King chains as of Oct 2019.
When does Taco Bell Open for Breakfast?
Taco Bell open between 6 AM and 9 AM, with 80% of stores opening at 7 AM.
Taco Bell’s breakfast menu launched nationwide in 2014 and has been thriving since, as breakfast makes up 7% of sales. With its innovative food offering and value menu, Taco Bell has managed a way to keep breakfast in its system.
When does Wendy’s Open for Breakfast?
66% of Wendy’s locations open at 10 AM. Currently, Wendy’s breakfast hours depends on its locality, where breakfast is served between 7 AM and 10:30 AM at a fraction of Wendy’s locations.
Wendy’s has announced plans to expand its offerings in 2020, making breakfast menu items available at all 5,853 locations. The company is slated to invest 20 million dollars in expanding its workforce by 20,000 workers.
When does Sonic Drive-In Open for Breakfast?
Sonic open between 6 AM and 9 AM with 61% of stores opening at 6 AM.
Sonic’s breakfast menu is available all-day long. In the fast-food breakfast market, Sonic is a growing enterprise mainly thanks to its unique drive-in ordering style and authentic sandwiches.
When does Panera Bread Open for Breakfast?
Panera Bread open between 6 AM and 7:30 AM. Panera Bread’s breakfast hours can differ with location with breakfast being available till 10 AM.
The fast-casual chain is aiming for quality and convenience by bringing more items to its breakfast menu, an elevated coffee platform, catering service and technology that supports all of it.
Leveraging Fast Food Breakfast to Drive Traffic
The universe of competitors is much larger than fast food when it comes to breakfast with the main factor being convenience. According to a data report, 16% of all restaurant foot traffic occurs at breakfast. Convenience and speed offered by limited-service chains are more important to consumers in the morning than at any other time of day.
Customers are convinced that fast food breakfast chains can save them time, and it eventually becomes an indispensable part of their routine. This way regular customers can help fast-food chains drive a huge amount of business.
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