• USA Today, Thursday, September 21, 2006 12:45 PM

In a move that would set the $32.8 billion family-dining industry on its head, McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner told an investor's conference yesterday that the fast-food giant might sell its popular breakfast items at all hours of the day. It would be a direct challenge to breakfast-all-day kingpins Denny's and IHOP. Most fast-food restaurants stop serving morning meals by 11 a.m. All-day breakfast would become feasible at some McDonald's with a kitchen design and technology that don't require switching grills that fry pancakes in the morning to cook burgers later. Improved breakfast sales on the current schedule have been key to McDonald's turnaround, and now account for about 50 percent of its business. Sales took off with the introduction of McGriddles in 2003, and also jumped after the March launch of premium coffee. "There's going to be a lot of discussion about this throughout the industry," says restaurant consultant Malcolm Knapp. "It's a very smart move." But Knapp points out that serving breakfast and burgers at the same time carries the risk of slower service, and would require redesigning crowded menu boards. A McDonald's spokesman said the company has no timetable or commitments for implementing the plans.

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