Sunday is National Egg McMuffin Day, in honor of the classic McDonald’s menu item turning 50! In 1970, some McDonald’s operators started considering developing a breakfast menu. Herb Peterson, who was a franchise co-owner in Santa Barbara, California, realized McDonald’s needed a unique product to ensure their breakfast menu was a success. He was inspired by eggs benedict, but realized prepackaged hollandaise sauce wasn’t a good option. So he replaced it with a slice of cheese, along with Canadian bacon, and the McMuffin was born. The first McDonald’s corporate-authorized Egg McMuffin was served at a Belleville, New Jersey McDonald’s. It sold for just 63 cents. The nationwide rollout was completed in 1975. By 1993, McDonald’s breakfast business had grown to an estimated $4-5 billion in annual revenue. Learn more in the audio below.