Burger King has been testing the $1 Double Cheeseburger in various markets for the past 18 months, and as of today, unveiled it nationally. After fighting tooth and nail against it, franchise owners seem to have relented, and BK is talking tough about the superiority of their Double Cheeseburger:

“With more beef and cheese, the $1 ¼-pound Double Cheeseburger beats competitors’ sandwiches, such as McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger and Wendy’s Double Stack,”

Burger King Double Cheeseburger

“1/4 pound of hot, not so fresh, delicious preservative laden beef!”

Dollar menus or value menus have been all the rage in the fast food world in the last few years, as companies look to offer as many deals and variety as possible to bring in more customers. Consumers love it, because instead of paying $6 for a value meal, they can fill themselves up on the cheap. For example, a McChicken and a McDouble at McDonalds is my go-to order – only $2 and it leaves me pretty satisfied. Well, satisfied from a fullness perspective, I am never satisfied when I’m forced to eat McDonalds.

The dirty secret of dollar menus though, that I alluded to in my opening paragraph, is that franchise owners HATE them. They feel that dollar menus allow people to load up on a few cheap items, instead of paying more for a value meal, costing them valuable sales dollars. Burger King has been fighting this battle with their franchisees for nearly 2 years now, as BK owners aren’t exactly eager to sell a burger for $1 that has been retailing for nearly $2.50.

Just last year, McDonald’s gave up their $1 double cheeseburger gambit, raising the price to $1.19 and adding the “McDouble” (essentially a double cheeseburger, sans one slice of cheese) to the dollar menu in its place. Yet now, BK is offering up a 1/4 pound version of what McDonald’s couldn’t afford to keep on its dollar menu? Good luck with that BK.

On the topic of cheap burger sizes, do you remember when the quarter pounder was considered to be literally a huge thing? People were all “whoa dude, quarter pounder. Alright. You aren’t messing around at this meal.” Uh yeah. Not so much anymore. A quarter pounder ain’t shite anymore people. Sorry dudes, but you are definitely not ballin’ if you are all about the burger that the local homeless dude can afford with a good 20 minutes of panhandling. But hey, in this economy, that’s a lot of sustenance for not a lot of money, so go buy it. Or don’t. I really don’t care.

Related: Meet the Bk Angry Whopper 

H/T to Fast Food Maven and GrubGrade.

8 Responses

  2. Brian

    When I think of Burger King I think of cold hamburgers and grungy restaurants.

    Fast food chains have created a lot of cheap options over the past year. I can see how it would appeal to families that are struggling or your stereotypical starving student. I think I’ll stay away though. I prefer meals that make me feel better after I eat them, not sick and light-headed.

    Reply
  4. Justin

    I went up to my local BK and tried to take advantage of this great deal only to have the drive through guy laugh at me and said he has never heard of this offer. When i asked how much they were he said they were 3.25. I don’t think i am ever going back there again

    Reply
  5. Patty

    Wow, Justin…where are you located? Those commercials are all over the TV…I can’t believe they haven’t at least heard of it where you are.

    Reply
  6. frank

    went by to get one of these $1 burgers, i think i got the jr burger and tasted like crap. No i remember why I havent been to burger king in 9 years. I ‘ll be away again for at least another 9 now… thanks burger king…

    Reply
  7. Dave Croxton

    Neither of them comes up to expectations. Neither looks like the commercial. The picture above doesn’t look like the actual burger. The burger King one was flat, the cheese was running down the side and there was hardly any pickle. The McDonald one was the same. I know, what do you expect for a dollar??? Well, the best burger available for one dollar in my opinion is the Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheese Burger. I believe one problem may be that the employeees do not know how to cook them or don’t care. People buy this stuff cooked the way it is. Imagine how much people would buy if it was cooked like the store really cared !!

    Reply

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