
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 15, 1991                   TAG: 9102150696
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: E-2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NASHVILLE, TENN.                                LENGTH: Short

MCDONALD'S CASTS FOR CATFISH CUSTOMERS

McDonald's Corp. which has tested menu items ranging from pizza to salisbury steak in a never-ending search for palate pleasers, is adding catfish to its experimental repertoire.

The world's largest fast-food chain said last week it will begin test-marketing a "crispy catfish sandwich" at 214 locations next month in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.

The 2.3-ounce catfish patty will be served with lettuce and tangy sauce on a homestyle bun - the same bread used for the chain's "McRib" sandwich.

McDonald's is recommending a price of $1.89 for the sandwich, but operators have the right to set their own cost, said Jane Basten, a marketing specialist in McDonald's Nashville division.

She said the test marketing will begin later this month or in early March.

Church's Fried Chicken had a 15 million-pound contract with six Mississippi processing firms in the mid-1980s, and catfish dinners were sold in more than 1,000 Church's outlets before sales slumped and the arrangement ended.

by CNB