If you didn’t make the trip to Ohio or West Virginia to get a taste of McDonald’s pizza earlier this year, you’re out of luck.
Pizza was once a nationally-offered McDonald’s menu option, which debuted in the late ’80s but disappeared in the ’90s — except in two locations: Pomeroy, Ohio and Spencer, West Virginia.
In March, news that the two McDonald’s still sold McPizza went viral, and curious fast food fans across the US and Canada traveled to try it out — but McDonald’s corporate office also took notice, and has now forced the stores to say goodbye to McPizza once and for all.
Unique: Earlier this year, the people on the internet freaked out about news that two McDonald’s locations in the US were selling pizza – but they have now stopped
Worth the trip: The pizzas were available at stores in in Pomeroy, Ohio and Spencer, West Virginia
The hero: Both stores are run by franchise owner Greg Mills, who was ordered to stop selling pizza as of August 31
The two locations, run by franchise owner Greg Mills, never actually stopped selling the menu option when the rest of the country did in the late ’90s.
Mills’ McDonald’s stores offered — personal pizza and family pizza — and toppings included plain cheese, pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green peppers. The family size sold for $6 each, while personal pies were between $2.75 and $3.25.
The incredibly rare menu item was such a draw that it became international news in March, and people drove long distances to test it out.
Those headlines also caught the attention of the McDonald’s corporate office, though, which appears to have told Mills once and for all that he could no longer sell pizza under the McDonald’s franchise.
McDonald’s issued a statement on the matter, which read: ‘Our menu is always changing, and we will no longer be serving pizza at our locations. However, we continue to offer a wide variety of items for our customers to try and enjoy.’
Flashback: Pizzas were available at many McDonald’s locations in the ’80s and ’90s but the item has been discontinued
Hanging on! These two stores still sold a knock-off of the original recipe until this month, and the owner shared his disappointment
Worth it? They came in two sizes and with a choice of toppings, but took a bit longer to make than other items — which is why they were initially discontinued
Mills, though, was clearly disappointed with the move, especially considering that his unique menu drew in diners from all over the country.
Last week, he posted a sign in his store announcing the change.
‘Effective August 31st we will no longer be allowed to sell McPizza. This decision was made by McDonald’s Corporate office, Not your local staff. It was our Pleasure and Honor to be one of only two McDonalds in The USA to carry this Great product for the past 15 years. We apologize to you our valued Guest and thank you for your support of McPizza over the past 15 years.’
According to Eater.com, most McDonald’s stores originally dropped the item because — with an 11-minute cook time — they took too long to prepare.
But when word spread that the two spots still carried the pies, fans were excited. In march, three Canadian men in their 20s traveled over a thousand miles just to get their hands on a pie in West Virginia.
Curious: When fans heard the news, they began traveling hundreds of miles to try it out
‘Before we even left I said this was a stupid idea—but that was the whole point, right?’ Mitchell Boughner, 25, told Munchies.
According to Canada.com, a spokesperson for McDonald’s said at the time that it wasn’t the exact same recipe that was sold in the 80’s and 90’s, even if fans say it’s pretty close.
Interestingly, the pizzas originally stayed on menus longer in Canada, and Howie Mandel once appeared in commercials for them, according to MentalFloss.