McDonald's: Angus Burger Trimmed Out of Menu

The Angus Third Pounder burger, one of the most expensive items on the McDonald's menu since its introduction in 2009, is apparently being taken out to pasture.

The international food chain, based in Oak Brook, Ill, announced the Angus sandwich is being removed from the United States menu "to make room for new and exciting choices," a McDonald's Corp. spokesperson said in an emailed statement quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

The sandwich's four-year run ends as McDonald's and the rest of the fast-food industry grapple are looking for answers in the still-listless economy.

Stationary working and middle-class incomes, along with continued high unemployment, have prompted even diehard restaurant patrons to look for ways to trim their food costs.

Bloomberg reports some fast-food customers are leaving McDonald's completely.

The company in October of last year posted its first monthly decline in same-store sales in nine years, while earlier this week it noted global sales again fell in April. Those drops run counter to the company's performance during the recession, when it posted growth amid an otherwise grim market.

The growing consumer trend is in so-called dollar menus, downgrades from regular-priced deals to cheaper fare.

Another segment has seen customers trading down from full-service restaurants to less expensive premium fast food options, such as specialist burger joint Five Guys.

In a 2011 earnings call, Donald Thompson, now chief executive for McDonald's, said the rise of high-end burgers provided the opportunity to sell more profitable products, such as the Angus.

"Frankly, I think it's good for us," he said back then. "I think it's a benefit because those premium burgers have higher margin and we've got some of those same premium burgers. When there's advertising on those, we get a benefit."

"Rest assured," Thompson said about the Angus this last April, "based upon our portfolio, we'll never remove anything from the menu that is a major driver of the business."

That seems to suggest that even though the Angus Third Pounder is out for the moment, it could be back when the market changes, since premium-priced products --- including salads, wraps and coffee beverages --- will continue to figure prominently in the company's future.

Of course, the true Angus die-hard can always hope that, just like the McRib, which has developed a significant cult following, the Angus Third Pounder will be added back to the menu periodically for limited periods, just long enough to tease the culinary faithful until it's spirited away again, back into the mysterious McDonald's vault of discontinued items.