Battling it out in the fast-food breakfast world has always been a war with high stakes.
McDonald's (MCD) has dominated the space for the longest period of time, debuting its Egg McMuffin in 1971. While it has certainly expanded the menu since those days, 25 million people roll through the drive-thru every day, and many of them are there for a breakfast they consider a classic.
Other brands wanted to emulate McDonald's success with breakfast, and some of them have done a good job of it. Chick Fil A is also well-known for its quality breakfasts, with its Chicken Biscuit as the star of the show.
And despite only debuting in 2020, Wendy's (WEN) has clearly hit a home run with its morning munchies, reporting record same-day sales for the launch, which was especially notable considering the launch happened during the covid pandemic.
Yum! Brands (YUM) darling Taco Bell has been working on finding its footing in the breakfast venue for eight years now. It was forced to stop serving it in March 2020 as a result of the pandemic's effect on business, but it made a return in September 2021.
Taco Bell is known for doing attention-catching things to retain the cool vibe of its business, like hiring rapper Lil' Nas as its Chief Impact Officer in 2021. And now it's got a new idea to draw in the brunch crowd that is, well, pretty fantastic.
Taco Bell Drag Brunch Has Arrived
Taco Bell
If you've always wondered what it would be like to enjoy a Bacon Crunchwrap while a fearlessly fabulous woman struts unapologetically in your general direction, Taco Bell is about to make your day.
The chain is debuting its Taco Bell Drag Brunch starting on May 1, which will tour five different cities including Las Vegas, Chicago, Nashville, New York, and Fort Lauderdale. Exclusively held at its Cantina locations, each show will be hosted by drag performer Kay Sedia and will feature local "queens and kings" as well.
Along with its current breakfast menu items, attendees will be served mimosas, because being sober for all the joy of a drag brunch just seems wrong, somehow.
Anyone can attend the shows that is 18 years old and registers for them via OpenTable. But Taco Bell Rewards members on the Fire! Tier gain early access to the event on April 26, before the general public. App users that earn 2,000 points in a calendar year are automatically promoted to this tier.
Taco Bell and It Gets Better
One really cool thing is that the Drag Brunch is being held as a partnership event with the It Gets Better Project, as the Bell is giving it a grant to help LGBTQ+ community members prepare for and thrive in the working world.
"What started nearly twelve years ago as an effort to provide hope and encouragement to young LGBTQ+ people has become a global movement to uplift and empower queer youth before they're in crisis,” said Brian Wenke, Executive Director of the It Gets Better Project. “We are beyond excited to partner with Taco Bell and the Taco Bell Foundation to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community through the Drag Brunch experience and to collaborate on programming designed to engage LGBTQ+ youth around their career aspirations and future potential."
