McDonald’s restaurants throughout the Central Coast are preparing to celebrate the second annual Herb Peterson Day on Jan. 5 to commemorate the life and legacy of Herb Peterson, Central Coast resident and inventor of the Egg McMuffin. 

Peterson was best known locally as the owner/operator of the six McDonald’s restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, where he opened his first McDonald’s in Santa Barbara in 1968. In 1973, he created the Egg McMuffin, modeled after his personal breakfast favorite — eggs Benedict.

Within a few years of presenting his breakfast product idea to McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, the sandwich became the platform for the breakfast business at McDonald’s from coast to coast. It altered the face of the food-service industry and changed the eating habits of millions of Americans, since no other quick-service restaurant offered breakfast before the development of the Egg McMuffin.

Peterson died in 2008, and the first Herb Peterson Day took place this year on Jan. 5, what would have been Peterson’s 90th birthday. 

Next Jan. 5, Central Coast residents are invited to celebrate the beginning of breakfast at McDonald’s by enjoying an Egg McMuffin during breakfast hours for only $1 (limit five sandwiches per customer).

In addition, a new book titled The Good Egg by David Peterson, Peterson’s son and former business partner, and Ann Marsh chronicles the life and legacy of Peterson. The book can be purchased online by clicking here or at any of the six McDonald’s restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta.

— Jessica Trumble represents Central Coast McDonald’s.