Taco Bell rolls out breakfast dollar menu

Taco Bell's new dollar menu features a slew of hearty breakfast items.

Taco Bell is jumping into the battle of cheap fast food deals with its new $1 breakfast menu.

The South of the Border chain unveiled the new menu and kicked off the promotion nationwide Thursday.

Taco Bell’s $1 breakfast menu features 10 items including the popular A.M. Crunchwrap with several new additions like a mini skillet bowl with potatoes and scrambled eggs, a breakfast-food filled Quesalupa and a sausage flatbread quesadilla.

The new menu comes as competitor McDonald's this week announced it was testing the expansion on its popular all-day breakfast menu and weeks after the chain launched its new "McPick 2" value meal offering, where customers can get two items for $5. Other fast food chains, such as Burger King, Wendy's, and Pizza Hut, have also unveiled some version of a value meal.

“While dollar menus disappear across America, Taco Bell is continuing to reinvent breakfast with delicious and unique menu items only Taco Bell can provide, with 10 items for $1 each," said Marisa Thalberg, the company's chief marketing officer, in a statement.

Though it has no plans to extend its breakfast hours from the current 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. window, Taco Bell is the first chain to offer a permanent breakfast value menu.

Breakfast has been a boon to Taco Bell’s business generating a slew of devotees across social media and significantly raising same store sales since its introduction in 2014.

In markets where Taco Bell tested the value menu, the $1 price point was found to lure in customers, and the chain hopes that while they're there they will also buy a higher-margin beverage or other menu item to accompany their $1 pick.  But while value meals are considered to be a traffic driver, franchise owners say value meal offers aren't a long term revenue strategy.