Wait, what's that noise?
If you're Burger King, it's the sound of your throned ass hitting the ground while a red-headed pigtailed girl moves into your number two spot as the country's second biggest hamburger chain.
That's right, Whopper fans: according to the Detroit Free Press citing a report by the food industry research firm Technomic, Wendy's bumped Burger King in U.S. sales volume for the first time last year -- since it started in 1969.
Maybe BK's creepy mascot "The King" (recently retired, thank God) did more damage than originally thought -- or perhaps Wendy's recent push as a more "high-end" hamburger chain with new menu items and an updated, modern floor plan gave it the edge.
According to Technomic's report cited by the Detroit Free Press, Wendy's had sales of $8.5 billion in 2011, compared with $8.4 billion for Burger King, even though on a worldwide scale, BK has more restaurants.
McDonald's, it seems, has little to worry about. The number one fast-food chain outdid both Wendy's and Burger King's 2011 numbers to the cha-ching of $34.2 billion. And although sales over the last five years have been flat for BK and up just nine percent for Wendy's, Mickey Dee's were up 26 percent, according the Technomic report (Maybe McDonald's could use some of that extra scratch to clean up its "Mommy, this slide feels germ-y!" play areas.).
In fast-food land, it looks like it's only good to be the King if you're okay with holding the third place throne.
