Columbus diners get the first taste of a familiar limited-time sandwich this fall, as McDonald’s brings the McRib back to select markets with Columbus expected to serve it starting Monday, October 26 — a day ahead of the chain’s wider Tuesday, October 27 rollout, according to USA TODAY reporting on The Columbus Dispatch’s coverage.
The boneless pork sandwich — a seasoned patty shaped to resemble a rack of ribs, served on a bun with barbecue sauce, pickles and onions — will appear only in select cities regionally for a limited time. McDonald’s confirmed Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas among the markets, and advised customers everywhere to check the McDonald’s app to see whether the McRib is on the menu at a restaurant near them before making a trip.
The early Columbus arrival follows reports tracked by the McRib Locator website, where shoppers in more than a dozen cities — from Bakersfield, California, to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Richmond, Indiana — reported buying the sandwich this week. Availability can differ from restaurant to restaurant even inside a confirmed market, which is why the chain is steering fans to the app for a location-by-location check.
This year’s return comes sooner on the calendar than the McRib’s typical annual appearance. In 2025 the sandwich returned to some markets in mid-November, and the year before McDonald’s brought it back nationwide in late November 2024. An October return puts the sandwich in Columbus restaurants ahead of Halloween and well before the holiday season rush.
The McRib has been a recurring limited-time item for more than four decades. McDonald’s executive chef Rene Arend, who also created Chicken McNuggets in 1979, is credited with the McRib’s creation in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1981, with the sandwich becoming available nationwide in 1982. It is made from pork, water, salt, dextrose and rosemary extract, and carries 520 calories, 28 grams of total fat, 46 grams of carbohydrates and 24 grams of protein, according to the chain.
For Columbus-area fans, the practical advice is simple: open the app, confirm a nearby restaurant lists the McRib, and go early in the run. Limited-time items sell unevenly, and McDonald’s has not announced how long this regional return will last or whether more Ohio markets will be added beyond the Columbus area.
No end date for the Columbus availability was announced in the reports. Customers who miss the first days can keep checking the app, as individual restaurants begin selling the sandwich as their supplies arrive through the week.