McDonald’s Makes More Cuts to Streamline Menu

OAK BROOK, Ill. — McDonald’s menu has just gotten smaller.

In an effort to speed up service, increase sales and offer customers personalized options to compete with chains like Subway and Chipotle Mexican Grill, the fast feeder has gotten rid of the Deluxe Quarter Pounder burger and six chicken sandwiches in the United States in the first quarter, reported Bloomberg Business.

The chain has also nixed its honey mustard and chipotle barbeque snack wraps.

“It was a ‘rolling removal,’ meaning restaurants discontinued serving them as their supply depleted,” said Lisa McComb, a company spokeswoman.

_{These menu changes come as McDonald's faces a continuous slide in sales, having not seen a monthly sales gain in the U.S. since October 2013.}

While ridding the menu of some sandwiches to help condense the broad menu, McDonald’s still has about 40 more items than it did in 2007, according to menu researcher Datassential in Los Angeles. In the past decade, the chain has added a number of new items in its attempts to draw more customers and better compete with other fast-food restaurants.

In 2006, McDonald’s added grilled and crispy chicken snack wraps and in 2009 began selling McCafe espresso drinks and three versions of Angus burgers nationwide — which have since been discontinued. McCafe smoothies and frappes were added in 2010, and Shamrock Shakes were sold nationally for the first time in 2012.

At the same time as McDonald’s trims its menu, the company is trying to keep up with its competition by bringing back Chicken Selects this year. It is also testing all-day breakfast at about 94 restaurants in the San Diego, Calif., area. The company additionally announced it’s rolling out a new sirloin burger and will continue to test new items.

McDonald's is expanding its customizable Create Your Taste test platform, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Last week, McDonald's reported that it closed more than 350 underperforming stores worldwide in the first quarter, including several in the U.S. These closings are in addition to the 350 restaurants the company originally planned to close in 2015.