On the call: Burger King CEO John Chidsey

Burger King CEO says it's too soon to tell on success of $1 double cheeseburger

• By The Associated Press
• On 3:30 pm EDT, Thursday October 29, 2009

Earlier this month, Burger King launched its $1 double cheeseburger nationwide.

The special will run through the spring and is expected to help the company boost overall revenue and foot traffic, particularly among customers looking to spend less when they dine out.

During a conference call with analysts Thursday, Burger King Chairman and CEO John Chidsey said the double patty was available in about a quarter of U.S. markets during the restaurant chain's first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, and helped drive more customers into restaurants.

QUESTION: How are sales of the double cheeseburger?

RESPONSE: "The promotion was rolled out nationally less than two weeks ago, so it's premature to comment on the overall success of the program or what its impact on (sales in restaurants open at least a year) may be. Our company restaurants have performed in line with our test market results. But we won't have franchisee data until the end of the month. So I remain cautiously optimistic, but I also remain realistic."