Some retirements are more believable than others.
Nobody, for example, believes that Elton John or KISS won’t tour again just because they went on extended farewell tours. When fans still want to see you, as is the case for John, Kiss, The Eagles, Motley Crue, and so many other bands that came back after retirement tours, the audience forgives the lie.
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Pro wrestler Terry Funk retired so many times that it became a joke and it’s actually hard to think of a single one of his peers who retired and never came back. Ric Flair, for example, has retired at least three times and held a spectacular “final” match pay-pay-per-view last year, but it’s likely his last match will only become official once, like Funk, he passes away.
In the fast food world, however, retirements are rare. A chain may take an item off the menu, but you almost never have the company say that the departing item is gone forever.
Yum Brands (YUM) – Get Free Report Taco Bell, for example, took the popular Mexican Pizza off the menu during the covid pandemic, but it never said it wasn’t returning (and it has). McDonald’s, however, was definitive during the last release of its popular McRib sandwich that the item was coming back for a short time, then going away forever.
“We have good news, and we have bad news. The elusive McRib® is finally back…BUT this could be your last chance to get it. After three straight years headlining McDonald’s nationwide menu each fall, the iconic sandwich is embarking on a “Farewell Tour” – giving fans across the country one more chance to experience a taste of the McRib at participating McDonald’s restaurants,” the chain shared in a press release.
That sounds pretty definitive, and it seemed possible that perhaps McDonald’s (MCD) – Get Free Report believed it could no longer affordably source whatever part of the pig goes into making the McRib. But, like so many musicians and pro wrestlers, “forever,” turned out to be about a year for the famous sandwich.
McRib will be back in November.
Image source: McDonald’s/TheStreet
McDonald’s bringing back McRib
McDonald’s, it should be noted, did hedge its bets a bit in the press release for the McRib Farewell Tour.
“Like any true farewell tour, we’re hoping this isn’t a ‘goodbye’ but a ‘see you later.’ Because as our McRib stans have experienced time and time again: you never know when – or if – the McRib is coming back,” the chain shared.
Still, it’s surprising that the company would bring McRib back so quickly, making it look not like popular demand, but more like the retirement was a publicity stunt. But, according to the popular and credible Snackolator Instagram page, the McRib will soon be back on the chain’s menu.
“Woah! Last fall the McRib went on a ‘Farewell Tour,’ but it’s coming back this November!” Snackolator wrote. “This will be in stores by mid-November nationwide and I know a lot of people are going to be very happy about this. I’m still confused how a Farewell Tour can be just a year, but I don’t think fans are going to care all that much.”
The McRib, which is made from a seasoned, boneless pork sensation, slathered in tangy barbecue sauce, topped with slivered onions and tart pickles first appeared on McDonald’s menus in 1980. It has always been a cult favorite with a McRib Locator website being created by a third party (not the company) to track its sporadic appearances over the years.
McRib was also parodied on a “Simpsons” episode as Homer Simpson traveled the country seeking Krusty Burger’s “Ribwich.”
McDonald’s did not return an immediate request for comment.
