Mahala Mcmuffins for breakfast

South Africans were queuing in anticipation at their local McDonald’s restaurants on 9 March to get their share of 217 000 free egg McMuffins given out in celebration of the fast food outlet’s global National Breakfast Day initiative.

Each of the 217 McDonalds restaurants in the country reserved their free McMuffins for the first 1 000 customers.

McDonald’s store manger at Honeycrest Shopping Centre Colin Masina said the initiative went really well.

“We started very early. The customers were here to meet us as we opened. We finished our 1 000 at 8.50am,” he said.

Store manager at the Northgate Shopping Centre McDonald’s Prince Ndlovu was very impressed with the support the store received from customers and workers at the nearby mall.

“So far so good; I’m lovin’ it. The support from everyone has been tremendous. It has been a gradual process since we’ve opened but the customers and organisers have made this day a huge success,” he said.

The Northgate Mcdonald’s reached its 1 000th McMuffin at 10:30am.

Operations manager at McDonald’s South Africa Miranda Padayachee said the initiative received a lot of media coverage and attention.

“It has been a very successful event this year. We are extremely proud of our employees’ efforts in making sure that customers leave the restaurants with a smile,” she said.

Padayachee said if anybody missed out on the festivities, they could still collect a coupon at the restaurant today (9 March) while stocks last, which would make them elligible for a free McMuffin on 10 March.

This initiative was an attempt to encourage customers to eat hearty breakfasts every morning.

“We tried to remind our customers that a good breakfast is one of the key foundations for a productive life,” Padayachee explained.