Why does it seem like fish sandwiches are the new chicken sandwiches?
Popeyes made news recently for debuting its first-ever fish sandwich, but seafood stuffed between bread is not a new concept for fast-food chains. In fact, offering an alternative for the 40-day Lent period observed by 50-million-odd U.S. Catholics goes back to 1965 when McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish was first introduced. Nowadays, 300 million of that OG sandwich are sold per year, with a quarter of the sales taking place during Lent. Overall, restaurants’ seafood sales increase 20 percent during Lent, so it makes sense that other chains want in on the action. But with new offerings from the likes of Del Taco and Quiznos, is there a risk of, well, overfishing?
