Burger King Explains Why They Had To Take This Chicken Sandwich Off The Menu

For many Burger King fans, it seems that the Ch’King menu item was a beloved and go-to choice. Last month, the fast food chain announced that they would be discontinuing the option and removing this sandwich from the menu, which left many customers upset and led them to air their grievances on Twitter. Now, Tom Curtis, President of Burger King North America, sat down for an interview with CNN Business to discuss retiring the Ch’King chicken sandwich and why removing it from their menu could bring more emphasis to their classic item, the Whopper.

“What we really want to do in the short term is reintroduce America’s love affair with the Whopper,” Curtis said. The plan, the outlet reported, is to make sure workers are well trained in “making the best possible Whopper, and that kitchens support consistency and ease of preparation.” The publication also spoke with Restaurant Brands International (owner of Burger King) CEO Jose Cil, who revealed that the Ch’King had more cons for the company than pros, even though it was a popular and raved item.

“Over the last few years during the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic … [Burger King US] didn’t do a great job of adjusting our business to the environment,” Cil said, “We didn’t simplify.” He continued, “We, in fact, complicated things, we added menu items … that were more difficult and not necessarily intuitive and typical for us to serve.” Cil was referring to the Ch’King, the hand-breaded chicken sandwich that Burger King introduced in 2021, adding that the product “created a ton of bottlenecks operationally.”

The company recently replaced the item with the Royal Crispy Chicken sandwich, much to the dismay of customers (at least when looking at their opinions on Twitter). The Ch’King “was a great product that was difficult or challenging for teams to execute on,” Curtis said. “The best thing for the guest is great flavor and consistency. So our Royal Crispy Chicken, which we just launched, offers both.”

Dan Accordino, CEO of Burger King’s major franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group, also noted that the sales of the Ch’King apparently didn’t take off the way Burger King had expected them to. “They spent a fortune on the chicken sandwich and it just didn’t do what it was supposed to do,” he said earlier this year. “The Ch’King didn’t generate the excitement that was hoped for,” he said.

Ever since the Ch’King was discontinued, fans have not been quiet about their qualms with the news, as seen in Tweets rounded up below:

So, we can’t help but wonder, did Burger King make the wrong move in replacing the Ch’King with the Royal Crispy Chicken sandwich? Time will tell.