The turbulent life of the McDonald's Kiwiburger has taken another twist with the fast-food chain once again ditching the item from its menu.
The Kiwi classic is made up of a beef patty, griddle egg, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onions, mustard and tomato sauce served between toasted buns.
The Kiwiburger is the only local burger on the outlet's menu in Aotearoa and has been doing the rounds since the idea was first thought of by franchisee Bryan Old.
He wanted to create a burger that was a nostalgic take on the typical Kiwi hamburger before McDonald's first stepped foot into the New Zealand market in 1976.
The burger was initially on trial in Old's five Hamilton restaurants, before being added to the national menu in 1991.
After 13 years the Kiwiburger was given the boot in 2004, but New Zealanders didn't have to wait long before it returned in 2007.
However it only lasted a year and a half before it was dropped for the second time, but it returned briefly in 2009. After being dumped again it returned quickly once more as part of a promotional 'Kiwi Menu' ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Just last year, McDonald's released a new version of the burger's jingle featuring Anika Moa and Troy Kingi in an attempt to celebrate what it means to be Kiwi.
But now, the Kiwiburger is once again no longer on offer.
McDonald's confirmed to Newshub that the Kiwiburger has been removed, adding that the all-day breakfast menu was also given the flick.
"Over the last 18 months we've been operating at times with a restricted menu due to COVID-19 alert level restrictions," a McDonald's spokesperson said.
"At the same time, demand for breakfast items outside breakfast hours had reduced. In November, as we prepared for a busy summer and continuing impacts on our restaurants and staff from Covid-19, all-day breakfast and some other menu items like Kiwiburger were removed."
McDonald's said that breakfast is now only available until 11am.
Kiwiburger fans shouldn't be too despondent, however; the burger seems to live a life where it can't stay away for too long. Chances are good it'll one day make another comeback.
