Turns out, people who want to eat fast-food deer meat really want to it eat — to the point where they’ll line up at Arby’s for a venison burger at 9 a.m. The chain’s new stunt sandwich has proven wildly popular, Nation’s Restaurant News reports, with the limited quantities available at 17 participating stores, all of which are located “within heavy deer hunting areas.” In some instances, the sandwich has sold out in as little as 15 minutes.
A rep for the chain says the Bambi burger debuted at a Nashville store last Monday and was gone by lunchtime. On Friday, the sandwich rolled out in Atlanta (where it lasted 90 minutes) plus Minnesota and Wisconsin, where customers apparently cleaned certain locations out in as little as 15 minutes.
The chain assumed this game gambit would pique people’s interest, but the rep tells NRN that “it’s safe to say that the response has exceeded our lofty expectations.” To be fair, it’s also safe to say that supplies were very limited: The Star-Tribune notes that participating Arby’s had a total of just 70 sandwiches. This was supposed to be a three-day supply, the company thought, but the response “was so incredible that we quickly sold out.”
The chain’s using farm-raised venison, but people are happy to suggest alternative sources, should Arby’s want to go the locavore route:
