National Hot Dog Day is July 19, but here’s why you won’t find franks at many fast-food chains
The hot dog may be a hit at family barbecues and ballparks, but has never become a menu staple at McDonald’s or Burger KingAmericans seemingly can’t get their fill of frankfurters, consuming an estimated 20 billion of them a year, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
And if they need another excuse to fill up, there’s always National Hot Dog Day, which falls on July 19 and comes with assorted offers from restaurants, from 5-cent franks at participating Nathan’s locations (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. only) to free delivery of hot dogs and other menu items at Portillo’s (through July 23).
But if they’re looking to order a hot dog at some of the country’s biggest restaurant chains, such as McDonald’s or Burger King, they’ll be, um, frankly out of luck. Tube steaks may rule the day at family barbecues or at the ballpark, but they’ve never quite cut the mustard, so to speak, in the dining mainstream.
And it’s not like some of those chains haven’t tried adding hot dogs to the menu. Burger King introduced them in 2016, but despite a promise to feature the “the Whopper of hot dogs,” the menu item didn’t last. Similarly, McDonald’s offered a McHotDog at select locations over the years, but the McHotDog proved more like the McColdDog and didn’t become a fixture. (Neither Burger King nor McDonald’s responded to MarketWatch’s requests for comment.)
So, why are hot dogs such a hard sell in so many restaurants? Dining industry insiders and observers cite a multitude of factors. READ MORE
