News & Trending Shopping & Deals News

10 Fast Food Sandwiches You Could Get In the 80s and 90s but Not Now

There’s nothing like a healthy serving of nostalgia.

female hands holding fast food burger
Updated Sept. 24, 2024
Fact checked

We receive compensation from the products and services mentioned in this story, but the opinions are the author's own. Compensation may impact where offers appear. We have not included all available products or offers. Learn more about how we make money and our editorial policies.

Your go-to order might be a Big Mac and fries, but for every menu staple, there are others that find fleeting fast-food fame. 

These items debut with a big marketing push, and then they’re gone in a flash when it turns out the public’s tastes didn’t necessarily align with the market research that inspired the latest dish.

If you’re old enough to worry about saving for your retirement fund, you’ll definitely recognize these fast-food misses. Here are some of the sandwiches you could get in the 1980s and 1990s but now have been lost to the fast food archives.

Earn $200 cash rewards bonus with this incredible card

There's a credit card that's making waves with its amazing bonus and benefits. The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card(Rates and fees) has no annual fee and you can earn $200 after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

The Active Cash Card puts cash back into your wallet. Cardholders can earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases — easy! That's one of the best cash rewards options available.

This card also offers an intro APR of 0% for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers (then 19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% Variable). Which is great for someone who wants a break from high interest rates, while still earning rewards.

The best part? There's no annual fee.

Click here to apply now.

McDonald’s: McDLT

gargantiopa/Adobe McDonald's worker holding fast food bag

The McDLT is a strange concept to grasp now — which might be why it didn’t last. It was essentially a classic burger with lettuce and tomato, except the burger side came hot, and the topping side came cold. 

When you got the sandwich in hand, you could combine the two for a crisp take on a burger. Unfortunately, it didn’t catch on, and it was retired in 1998 after 14 years on the menu.

Wendy’s: Chicken Caesar Pita

jetcityimage/Adobe Wendy's fast food restaurant exterior

Wraps had a moment, and nearly everyone got on board, including fast food joints. Wendy’s launched the Chicken Caesar Pita in the late 1990s, and it was a hit thanks to its warm bread and low-fat dressing (it was the 90s, after all!). The sandwich survived for only three years, but you can still find dupe recipes online from fervent fans.

KFC: Chicken Littles

dvoevnore/Adobe KFC fast food restaurant logo

Chicken Littles were KFC’s answer to the slider. These petite pieces of beer-battered fried chicken were served on a small bun, and you could buy 3 of them for just over a dollar. After their original 1980s debut, they were relaunched in 2012, this time for good.

Stop overpaying when you shop online

Shopping online has its perks. It's super convenient, but it can be time consuming to find the best deals. Instead of hunting for coupon codes (that don't always work!) and opening tons of browser tabs comparing prices, you can try Capital One Shopping.

Capital One Shopping makes saving money effortless. Just add the browser extension and when you check out, it'll scour the internet for coupon codes to help you save cash. And before you check out at 25+ major retailers, Capital One Shopping will notify you with a friendly pop-up if the item you're buying is available cheaper somewhere else.

Capital One Shopping is free to use and won't show you ads. Add it today and stop overpaying!1

Get Capital One Shopping now

Pizza Hut: P’Zone

Roland Magnusson/Adobe Pizza hut restaurant sign outside restaurant

Have you ever wished a fast food restaurant served calzones? Pizza Hut did! In 1982, they started selling the P’Zone, which was a huge calzone stuffed with all your favorite Pizza Hut toppings. It had a good run, but it was retired by the 2000s.

McDonald’s: McHotDog

wolterke/Adobe McDonald's Trademark Logo

Let’s not get into a debate over whether a hot dog is a sandwich. McDonald’s briefly tried to introduce a classic hot dog in 1995, but the effort was short-lived. The original founder had vowed never to sell a hot dog, so perhaps his legacy was too strong.

Hardee’s: Frisco Thickburger

Refrina/Adobe Hardee's Fast Food Restaurant Chadbourn

For those who like their burger with multiple beef patties, bacon, Swiss cheese, and an onion ring, the Frisco Thickburger was a dream. This Hardee’s burger debuted in 1992, promising to deliver the best of San Francisco to the American public, thanks to its sourdough bun. It was a fast food fan favorite, but by the late 2000s, it had been retired.

McDonald’s: McRib

Colin Temple/Adobe McDonald's Ottawa Ontario Canada

Does it actually count as a retired fast food sandwich if it comes back for occasional cameos? That’s the existential question of the McRib Burger, which first debuted in the 1980s and has popped up here and there over the past four decades. 

This boneless take on pork ribs served on a bun with onions, pickles, and barbecue sauce, is a flavor combination that the public just can’t quit.

Burger King: Breakfast Burger

Savvapanf Photo ©/Adobe Burger King restaurant exterior

Burger King’s first venture into the breakfast game was a breakfast burger in the 1980s. They combined breakfast staples, including a sausage patty, egg, and cheese, with the classic sesame burger bun. This burger didn’t last, but breakfast at Burger King is still a staple.

Taco Bell: Bell Beefer

Refrina/Adobe Taco Bell Fayetteville North Carolina

You love Taco Bell for its chalupas and crunch wrap supreme, but did you know they once had a burger? And did you know it survived on the menu for nearly two decades? From the 70s to the 90s, there was a Mexican take on a sloppy joe at Taco Bell. It had seasoned ground beef, onion, lettuce, and their signature Border sauce.

Earn money online by taking surveys

$55,000 might sound crazy … but with a company called Survey Junkie, it’s possible to get your share of it every day by taking their surveys in your extra time.

Follow these simple steps to start earning:

  1. Sign up for an account with Survey Junkie here.
  2. Take surveys.
  3. Repeat daily and get paid for sharing your opinion!

P.S.: You can cash out with as little as $5 through PayPal or bank transfer, or transfer to gift cards from a number of stores.

Get your share of $55,000 daily by signing up here

McDonald’s: Arch Deluxe

wolterke/Adobe Contemporary McDonald's Restaurant Exterior

One of the biggest fast food marketing pushes of the 1990s was the Arch Deluxe, a quarter-pounder that was essentially a riff on the Big Mac. It had a mustard-mayo sauce, cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and onion — on a sesame bun. Truly, it could have been the fraternal twin of the Big Mac, but with a higher price tag. It didn’t last long.

Bottom line

fadedphotographs/Adobe hungry driver holding cheeseburger in car

While we think of the classics — like the Whopper or the Big Mac — the fast-food world is a constant churn of hits and misses. Fast food chains are always looking for new items to push out to the public to generate buzz and convince consumers to go out to eat more.

Some will fade away slowly. Some will become permanent fixtures. And some will make intermittent comebacks to keep the mystique going for years (McRib, anyone?).

Lucrative, Flat-Rate Cash Rewards

5.0
info

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Current Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks
Card Details