Arby's is known for having the meats — and now you can have them, too, without all the bread and trimmings. The chain restaurant has started selling roasted turkey, ham and corned beef by the pound and half-pound in to-go packages in several of its Atlanta-area locations. Which means, for a limited time, you can get all that glorious sliced meat without having to order a sandwich.
"With COVID-19 and social distance guidelines, many brands/companies have been challenged to think differently in how they provide best-in-class service to their guests," a representative from Arby's told TODAY Food in an email. "Arby’s Meat-by-the-Pound test offering was born out of the desire to provide guests high-quality deli meat through the convenience of a drive-thru."
As many people continue to make more meals at home or pick up food to go during the pandemic, restaurants have had to pivot to more DIY-style offerings. Panera and Subway are selling groceries in their restaurants; Shake Shack and other famous restaurants around the country are offering meal kits to assemble at home; and Chick-fil-A's Chicken Parmesan Meal Kit was popular with Atlanta area customers seeking comfort food.
Arby's said that customers have long been asking to purchase their meat without the bread, and that they are happy to finally please their protein-loving public.
"The test has been quietly taking place in select Atlanta locations, and is scheduled to end at the end of September," said the company.
Arby’s is offering a 1/2 pound of Roast Turkey, Pit Smoked Ham and New York Style Corned Beef for $4.99 and 1 pound for $8.99.
"This idea was born from Arby’s desire to innovate during a difficult time to best serve our customers," said Patrick Schwing, CMO of Arby’s in a statement sent to TODAY. "Through this offering, we are able to provide a product that not only have our guest repeatedly asked for, but we can do it in an easy, socially-distant drive thru-setting. We are excited to see a positive response thus far and look forward to using this test to determine if and when the program can be scaled to additional markets."
We'll take Arby's meats any way you can slice them — as long as they're not shaped into this meat carrot from last summer! The "marrot" was the chain's answer to other fast-food restaurants making meat products out of plants — something they have promised never to do.