McD's mixes breakfast and burgers _ for night owls

NEW YORK (AP) -- McDonald's is taking a small step toward offering breakfast items outside of its usual breakfast hours — at least if you're a night owl.

Starting this month, the fast-food chain says participating 24-hour restaurants in select locations will offer an "After Midnight" menu that includes its oatmeal, Hot Cakes with Sausage and the Sausage Burrito. The rollout builds on a "Breakfast After Midnight" menu the company has been testing.

Customers also will be able to mix items to create "Midnight Value Meals," with either fries or hash browns as their side items, McDonald's says.

McDonald's CEO Don Thompson had said in a CNBC interview earlier this year that the company was open to expanding its breakfast hours. Fans of McDonald's breakfast have long wanted the chain to make its Egg McMuffins and biscuits available later in the day.

The "After Midnight" menu is already available in North Delaware, Delaware and College Station, Texas, according to McDonald's. A spokeswoman for the company did not immediately know how many of its more than 14,000 U.S. restaurants would offer the menu.

McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, Ill., has been working to expand hours around the world as a way to boost sales.

"Our customers want convenience around the clock, and we're making it easier to eat at McDonald's with more 24-hour restaurants open than ever before," the company said in a statement.