10 Discontinued Arby’s Items We Aren’t Getting Back
Statista says that 91% of Americans have heard of the fast food chain Arby’s. There’s no question that marketing has something to do with this, but the brand has also set itself apart by focusing on sandwiches instead of burgers or fried chicken.
Arby’s is now one of the biggest fast food sandwich chains in the United States because of this strategy.
Many Arby’s sandwiches are made with roast beef, but the company has grown and thrived over the years because it changes its menu almost all the time.
Rob Lynch, who used to be the company president at Arby’s, told Thrillist, “We try to bring stuff that kind of pushes the limits of innovation, and if they scale and people fall in love with them, we try our best to bring them to the core menu.”
There is a price to pay for this new idea. All of the spots on fast food menus are very popular, and for new things to be added, old ones have to be taken off.
This has happened at Arby’s, where over the years, many old items have been taken off the menu. Here are ten items on the menu that have met the same end.
1. Arby’s White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Fast food establishments are notoriously bad at making mac & cheese. Pasta can readily overcook due to bulk cooking and high holding temperatures.
Lower-quality versions of the meal are known to taste artificial and the sauce frequently turns up gloopy. When selling its version of mac and cheese as a side or as a part of the 2 for $6 Everyday Value menu, Arby’s was able to stay clear of all these issues.
Customers repeatedly praised this particular mac and cheese’s excellence, praising the well cooked macaroni and the distinctive, tangy sauce in particular.
The two for $7 Everyday Value menu has taken the place of the previous two for $6 menu at Arby’s.
It is now possible to get mozzarella sticks instead of mac and cheese on this menu. Additionally, there isn’t a side of mac & cheese on the standard menu.
It’s interesting to see that there was a small window around the end of 2022 when Arby’s white cheddar mac & cheese was accessible.
A loaded version of the side was also offered at this period, with bacon and diced chicken on top. Although occasionally seen across the nation, none of these two items is included on Arby’s official menu.
2. Arby’s Ham Slider
The Ham Slider is yet another slider that has been abruptly removed from Arby’s menu.
This slider was part of an extraordinary debut month in 2015, when 29 million sliders were sold. Despite an outstanding launch, the Ham Slider was eliminated off the menu in 2021 along with five other dishes.
The loss of the Ham Slider was particularly felt by customers, despite it not being the most exciting Arby’s dish to be eliminated. “My thoughts are as follows, I have always enjoyed an Arby’s ham sandwich,” one user wrote on Reddit.
then a Ham Slider from Arby’s was substituted. You want to stop using the slider right now. It appears that you no longer want people to buy food from you. I’m sorry, but you’ve lost another dependable client.
Not only is the Ham Slider no longer available, but Arby’s appears to have abandoned ham altogether. Instead, the current menu emphasizes sandwiches and sliders with roast beef or chicken as the main ingredients.
3. Arby’s Steakhouse Onion Rings
Arby’s is a popular fast food chain that excels at many different aspects. Despite this, every brand will occasionally make a mistake. This blunder for Arby’s was the Steakhouse Onion Rings, a side that was introduced in 2010.
The huge, battered onion rings that came with the Arby’s Steakhouse Onion Rings looked as though they lived up to their moniker. But for the product, this was the best that could be done.
Customers frequently complained that the food tended to become soggy before they had finished eating and that the entire onion would pull out of the batter after only one bite. Even worse, making Arby’s onion rings required a lot of effort and time.
People who worked at Arby’s were not startled to find that the onion rings were being discontinued because of these flaws.
On Reddit, a former worker at Arby’s shared the following opinion: “They were one of the hardest fried food items to prepare, and we never sold enough to have them ready for customers. Therefore, I’m not shocked that they’re gone.
4. Arby’s Potato Cakes
The Arby’s Potato Cakes were the menu item that hurt customers the most out of all the ones that were eliminated. After Arby’s successfully introduced its take on crinkle fries, the shredded, fried potato was abruptly removed off the menu.
To the chagrin of Arby’s consumers everywhere, these joined the always-popular curly fries and left little place for another potato-based side.
Thrillist was given the following explanation by an Arby’s representative regarding the decision to stop selling the Potato Cakes: “Our Curlies have long been a fan favorite, but after many months of research and development and extensive market testing, customers made it clear that our all-new Crinkles were a hit, and we had created a true companion on equal footing to its legendary predecessor.
Crinkles and curlies are now the two greatest fries available at QSR, and they pair perfectly. Who’s to say that even though our potato cakes have been temporarily stopped, they won’t always be gone?
According to customer feedback, Arby’s would be smart to bring back the Potato Cakes at some time.
The crinkle fries have made a permanent home on Arby’s modern menu; a loaded version of the side dish is even available. In addition, we can’t think of Arby’s without their famous curly fry. These factors lead us to assume that the Potato Cakes are likely permanently lost.
5. Arby’s Loaded Italian Sandwich
In addition to having excellent curly fries, Arby’s is known for its meat-heavy meals and sandwiches. The company’s catchphrase, “Arby’s, we have the meats!” as well as its outstanding menu of sandwiches, which includes the Reuben sandwich, underscore Arby’s emphasis on meat.
This makes the 2021 Arby’s discontinuation of the Loaded Italian Sandwich all the more unexpected.
Huge amounts of ham, salami, and pepperoni served on an Italian roll with cheese, vinaigrette, aioli, and a variety of salads made this menu item the embodiment of the company’s name.
When the sandwich first debuted in 2015, Rob Lynch told Prepared Foods, “We feel it’s a logical addition to the Arby’s menu as the Italian sandwich has become an international favorite known for stacking excellent Italian meats.
The Loaded Italian pays respect to the classic and affirms our dedication to provide our customers with extremely crave-able, meatcrafted sandwiches.
Arby’s chose to upgrade their meat offering by launching a limited-edition authentic country-style rib sandwich prepared from beef that had been smoked for eight hours in favor of the Loaded Italian Sandwich. After the loaded Italian was removed from the menu, a chicken cheddar ranch sandwich was added.
6. Arby’s Pizza Slider
In 2017, the franchise added the Arby’s Pizza Slider to its menu, bringing the total number of sliders offered at that time to eight.
The Pizza Slider, keeping with the brand’s heritage, included salami and pepperoni as its two varieties of meat. The sandwich was finished with provolone cheese and marinara sauce made with roasted garlic.
Six menu items were dropped when Arby’s decided to revamp its menu in 2021. Pizza Slider was one of them.
Roasted garlic marinara sauce, a special component of the slider, was also taken out of Arby’s outlets.
There are currently only four sliders available at Arby’s: the Buffalo chicken slider, the chicken slider, the roast beef slider with jalapenos, and the roast beef slider.
Some Arby’s customers have grown irritated over the years by the disappearance of so many sliders. As one consumer noted on Reddit: “I miss the pizza and corned beef sliders, those things were fantastic, the brand does have a number of other worthwhile menu items that may be chosen in the stead of the Pizza Slider.
It is a good consolation dish, but you just have to stick with the [Reuben] for the time being.
7. Arby’s Loaded Curly Fries
Despite being a sandwich shop that specializes in meat, curly fries are what Arby is known for.
This well-liked side has become embedded in the fast food industry after being chosen by Thrillist as the finest French fries. Since Arby’s version of this side is so well-known, many customers even think the restaurant chain created the curly fries.
This makes it even more incredible that the bacon, sour cream, and cheddar cheese-topped Arby’s Loaded Curly Fries were removed.
The loaded fries were introduced near the end of 2015 and were offered until the 2021 menu overhaul at Arby’s. Various versions of the loaded curly fries were made available during this time for brief times.
The company’s gyro-loaded curly fries, which were served with Greek gyro meat, tzatziki, and gyro seasoning on top of the fries, were maybe the greatest of them. Sadly, despite the success of Arby’s gyro items generally, this choice was also eliminated.
At the time this article was written, Arby’s did not offer any loaded curly fries; instead, chicken bacon ranch loaded crinkle fries could be ordered.
8. Arby-Q
Only 13 years after the company’s founding, Arby’s introduced the Arby-Q, a sandwich made with roast beef and barbecue sauce. The Arby-Q has been withdrawn and reintroduced numerous times since this time; in 2008, it was priced at $0.99.
In 2012, when two were offered for $4, the sandwich also made a comeback. The Arby-Q was not retained on the menu for very long in either situation.
Even though it has been a staple of Arby’s for many years, the Arby-Q has not fared well during these fleeting revivals. Instead, the overwhelming, salty, and in no way barbecue-like sauce has drawn criticism from the general public.
Arby’s presently offers nine distinct roast beef sandwich variations, indicating there might not be room for another, whether or not it is covered with barbecue sauce.
This suggests that the Arby-Q won’t be returning to the menu any time soon, especially given the terrible reception the product received in subsequent launches. That news will bring relief to many people.
9. Arby’s Sourdough Melts
Early in the new millennium, Arby’s two Sourdough Melts were introduced with great enthusiasm.Both ham and Swiss cheese and beef and thousand island dressing were options for the Sourdough Melt filling.
The eye-catching animations of the day are displayed alongside two large sandwiches filled with meat and cheese in advertisements from this era. The outcome was a little bit overwhelming.
Unfortunately, Arby’s Sourdough Melts were far less impressive in reality. Customers complained that there was an excessive amount of bread given with very little meat, which rendered both melts bland.
Arby’s has long since stopped selling sourdough melts in favor of sandwiches with more meat than bread, like roast beef sandwiches and chicken sliders.
The Arby’s menu currently offers the franchise’s signature corned beef Reuben as well as a pecan chicken salad sandwich prepared with sliced bread.
Given that Arby’s hasn’t carried the two Sourdough Melts in decades, we wouldn’t wager on their reappearance. Fortunately, there are many additional Arby’s options available that serve the same purpose.
10. Arby’s Chocolate Turnover
One of Arby’s traditional dessert selections is turnovers. Apple and cherry versions are still available from the brand today.
While these two dessert variations are still in style, one turnover the Chocolate Turnover has been left behind. To make place for Arby’s assortment of chocolate cookies, this item was eliminated.
It was regrettable that the Chocolate Turnover was no longer available, especially considering how well-liked the delicacy was.
Customers commended the flaky pastry and the copious chocolate filling in reviews.
The fact that the former was produced by Pepperidge Farm and the latter by Hershey’s surely enhanced the dessert’s caliber.
Despite this, there was little protest when the Chocolate Turnover was stopped.
FAQs
At parent firm Inspire Brands’ corporate offices in Atlanta, some dimwitted bean counter undoubtedly did some number crunching and determined they could save a nickel by omitting one of “the meats.” Naturally, by eliminating ham off the menu, Arby’s compromised not just the slider but also the Loaded Italian.
The brand would discontinue selling its loaded fries and potato cakes in favor of its newest offering, crinkle fries, according to other employees of various Arby’s shops. The issue was that potato cakes were never popular enough to make making them worthwhile.
Arby’s will continue to offer curly fries and introduce crinkle fries.
Wagyu Steakhouse Burger.
According to Chew Boom, for a short period of time, a few Arby’s restaurants across the nation will serve the infamous Pecan Chicken Salad Sandwich and all of its fixings.
Lancaster, Pennsylvania — Many hungry tourists have relied on the neon 10-gallon cowboy hat sign in front of Arby’s on the Golden Strip throughout the years. One of the last ones in the nation is the vintage hat sign. There are reportedly only about 100 of these placards left.
