There are a lot of reasons why 2016 will never be anyone’s favorite year.
For starters, both David Bowie and Prince died. A big chunk of The Internet got mad about the then-new “Ghostbusters” film. There were way too many creepy clown sightings in random neighborhoods in the United States and the United Kingdom. And McDonald’s pulled the Snack Wrap off its menu.
That beloved combination of chicken, cheese, lettuce, and sauce — all lovingly swaddled in a flour tortilla — was discontinued for several reasons: They were fussy and time-consuming to assemble, sales weren’t as robust as the chain anticipated, and they were never as popular as all-day breakfast.
But one snack-focused TikToker says that Snack Wraps could eventually make their triumphant return. How does he know? He says it’s because McDonald’s just finished testing McCrispy chicken tenders.
OK, we’re aware that this all sounds like a complicated theory that requires a full wall, several printouts, and some red string to connect it all but hear us out. According to @SnachWithZach, the McCrispy chicken tenders are “the missing link we’ve needed” for the Snack Wrap to come back. The McCrispy Tenders had a test run in seven McDonald’s restaurants in Hickory, North Carolina, and were available through Sunday, July 21.
He’s making the mental jump from the McCrispy test to that tortilla-clad wrap we all loved because of something that Joe Erlinger, the president of McDonald’s USA, said during a call with investors last December.
“In the US business, we have three really strong chicken brands between McChicken, Chicken McNuggets, and obviously McCrispy,” Erlinger said at the time. “But (with) McCrispy, we’re in the early days, really building that brand and so looking forward. Will we eventually have a crispy tender? Yes. And will that allow us to eventually have a McCrispy Snack Wrap? Yes. But we’re still in the early days of doing that.”
McDonald’s has not commented on the McCrispy tenders or their connection to the Snack Wrap; according to @SnachwithZach, a McDonald’s spokesperson only confirmed the location and dates of the test.
So all we can do is just wait with our fingers crossed and hope that these tenders are the crucial connection and that those wraps will soon return. If you need your wrap fix immediately, you may have to travel abroad. As of this writing, in South Korea, the McDonald’s “Happy Snack” menu includes a 1955 Snack Wrap, which involves a wrapped-up burger patty topped with grilled onions and a “special smoky sauce.”
There are seven wraps currently on the menu at McDonald’s UK, including both grilled and crispy versions of a Chili Chicken Wrap, a Caesar and Bacon Wrap, and a BBQ and Bacon wrap. And McDonald’s Canada has an Avocado Ranch McWrap, and nine (!!!) Snack Wraps.
How long does it take to drive to Canada? Asking for a friend.