Herb Peterson Day to salute local entrepreneur who gave back to the community
David Peterson sits with a tray of Egg McMuffins at the McDonalds on Fairview Avenue in Goleta. Behind Mr. Peterson is a photo of his father, Herb Peterson, who invented the Egg McMuffin.
Just over 50 years ago, Herb Peterson invented the Egg McMuffin.
On Tuesday, McDonald’s fans will celebrate his legacy with Herb Peterson Day, which will honor the late co-owner of McDonald’s restaurants in the Santa Barbara area.
Implementing the metal ring that keeps the eggs circular, Mr. Peterson created the convenient handheld sandwich (a working person’s eggs benedict) and brought it to Ray Kroc, the CEO of McDonald’s. Mr. Kroc loved it, adding it to the chain’s menu.
This was McDonald’s first fast-food breakfast service, and today, breakfast accounts for about 30% of McDonald’s profits.
In addition to inventing the McDonald’s breakfast staple, Mr. Peterson is known for his relationship with Santa Barbara and Goleta. According to his son, David Peterson, Herb was a special man who loved his community and loved giving back.
Dating back to 2009, the annual Herb Peterson Day celebrates Herb’s legacy by combining two of the loves in his life: giving back to his community and, of course, the Egg McMuffin.
At participating locations in Goleta and Santa Barbara, Egg McMuffins will be sold for $2 each (for a maximum of five McMuffins), and all of the profits will go to the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics.
In 2021, Herb Peterson Day raised around $4,000 in order to help with COVID-19 vaccination efforts.
This year, David Peterson, who owns the two McDonald’s restaurants in Goleta, hopes to raise just as much money or even more. David said that the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics do an amazing job. They were hit hard by the pandemic, so he wants to support them as much as possible.
email: cbeeghly@newspress.com
