In the late 1980s and 1990s, McDonald’s launched an unconventional menu item that marked a considerable departure from its signature cheeseburgers — the legendary McPizza.
The surprising detour from the fast food chain’s traditional menu left a lasting mark on the brand’s history, even if it was temporary.
Despite its cult following, the McPizza was eventually abandoned, although its legacy still lingers in the hearts — and stomachs — of those who were lucky enough to fall in love with its cheesy goodness.
The McPizza initially debuted as a family-sized pizza, and was intended to be served to dine-in customers at a time when pizza from a fast-food restaurant was pretty revolutionary.
A McPizza ad. Photo: McDonald’s.
Diners had the luxury of enjoying their pizzas in a variety of shapes, including a Hot Pocket-esque version that came in a box similar to the McDonald’s apple pie packaging we know today. Larger pizzas were priced between $6.99 and $9.99, while single-serve pies cost $2.49.
Photo: Jason Liebig.
In 1992, McDonald’s launched its pizza line in 633 locations across Canada, which quickly established it as the largest pizza chain in the country. However, McDonald’s began running into some issues soon after the introduction of the McPizza.
You see, the pizzas took roughly 11 to 12 minutes to prepare, which didn’t exactly align with McDonald’s whole fast-food philosophy of quick service.
As time passed, the McPizza’s allure wore off, and by 1999, McDonald’s began pulling pizzas from the western Canada locations, followed by a complete withdrawal from the Canadian and U.S. markets in 2000.
The expensive ovens used to bake the pizzas also took up valuable space behind the counter, which didn’t help its case to remain on the menu. Although the McPizza has disappeared from McDonald’s across the country, it has never truly faded from the public’s memory.
A Facebook page, appropriately named “Bring Back the McPizza,” boasts over 500 members, and is still active to this day. Requests also continuously flood McDonald’s social media channels, especially after the chain teased an announcement on Twitter in August 2021, which left many fans wondering if the McPizza was going to make a comeback.
By the 2010s, only two McDonald’s locations — one in Pomeroy, Ohio, and the other in Spencer, West Virginia — continued to serve family-style McPizzas, although both of the restaurants stopped serving the pies by 2017.
Currently, the only location that still serves the McPizza is a 19,000-square-foot McDonald’s in Orlando, Florida. Aside from ordering your personal pizza, you can also order Belgian waffles, paninis, and tortellini with pesto at this location, as part of its extensive “Gourmet Bistro” menu.
Although the iconic McPizza might have been a short-lived chapter in McDonald’s 85-year history, its cult following will most likely never cease to exist, proving that some food cravings truly never go away.
Still, McDonald’s has a history of bringing back beloved menu items like the Snack Wrap, so, to all the McPizza fans out there, keep your fingers crossed, because you might just get to sink your teeth into a McDonald’s pizza again one day.
Boris Spremo/Toronto Star
