Wendy’s launches pretzel bacon pub cheeseburger

Fox Business Briefs: Wendy's says its beef supply has returned to near-normal levels after a shortage left some restaurants without hamburgers; new research shows as many as 25,000 stores could close this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Wendy’s has made a tweak to its burger lineup, and it involves a special type of bun the company has used in the past.

The national fast-food chain debuted a new pretzel bacon pub cheeseburger on Tuesday, which includes a quarter-pound burger patty, muenster cheese, three strips of applewood smoked bacon, smoky honey mustard, warm beer cheese sauce, crispy fried onions and pickles — all sandwiched between a soft pretzel bun.

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The combination of ingredients is meant to offer a salty, savory and sweet taste, according to Wendy’s press announcement.

Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger (The Wendy's Company)

But, it’s also not the first time Wendy’s has had a pretzel bun burger on its menu. The chain introduced a similar pretzel bacon cheeseburger in 2013 but discontinued the item in 2015, according to a report from food news website, Brand Eating.

"Like we did with Spicy Nuggets, we've been watching and listening as customers have been craving for us to bring pretzel back," Wendy’s chief marketing officer Carl Loredo said in a statement. "We married the fervor for our former pretzel bun with the increased love for gastropub-inspired flavors and created a cheeseburger that is, in a word, unforgettable."

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A gastropub is a pub, bar, or tavern that offers meals of high quality. The trendy food service style gained popularity in recent years as part of the estimated $24 billion bar and night club market in the U.S., according to a forecast from IBISWorld, a global market research firm.

However, with the coronavirus pandemic limiting operations for actual bars and nightclubs, Wendy’s is able to take part in the trend without as much revenue loss compared to this nighttime hospitality segment, which has declined by 9% in 2020, IBISWorld claims.

In the first quarter of 2020, Wendy’s reported adjusted revenues of $326.4 million – a 0.5% decline compared to the same period a year prior. The second quarter reported adjusted revenues of $324.2 million, a steeper decline of 7% when compared to the same period in 2019.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
WEN	THE WENDY'S CO.	18.11	+0.19	+1.06%

Wendy’s latest pretzel-based menu item comes a little over two weeks after the national chain introduced its spicy crispy chicken candwich. And six months before that, the company launched a new breakfast menu nationwide after having attempted the feat three times since the 1980s.

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The pretzel bacon pub cheeseburger is available starting at $5.69. A chicken sandwich version is also available starting at $6.19.