McDonalds
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Why Restaurant Prices Are Staying So High as Inflation Cools
Even as inflation eases, restaurateurs have not seen their costs fall, and are charging customers higher prices as a result.
themessenger.com
Last month consumer prices were just over 3% higher than in July of 2022. Restaurant prices have risen 7.1% in that time, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Price increases are not relegated to a single sector of the restaurant industry, but the rising cost of eating out is evident at popular chains.
In 2019, before pandemic shutdowns snarled supply chains and sent the cost of some commodities into the stratosphere, a Big Mac cost an average of $5.03 in the U.S.. At the beginning of this year, that average price had risen to $6.30, according to Pricelisto, which tracks the cost of specific items.
The price of a cheese quesadilla from Taco Bell shot up by more than a third, to $6.74 at the beginning of the year from $4.10 in 2019.
To some in the restaurant industry, those increases represent a reckoning.
“We have never thought that food should be as cheap as it always is when you go to chain restaurants, which artificially keep prices low and aren't paying staff what they need to make a living,” said Cheetie Kumar, a chef who owns the southwest Asian and Mediterranean restaurant Ajja in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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“For years restaurants took for granted things like [fryer] oil and salt,” Reilly said. “Now we could fry three pieces of shrimp and the oil will be the most expensive ingredient on the plate."
Cost increases hit smaller restaurants especially hard because they can't take advantage of steep discounts that come with buying large quantities, said Erika Polmar, executive director of the Independent Restaurant Coalition.
“An independent restaurant doesn’t have the buying power to help drive the price of those ingredients down,” she said.
When commodity prices rise, chefs can compensate by using less expensive items like cheaper cuts of meat. But that change comes with trade-offs, Kumar said.
She said she can use parts of an animal that are not as tender and “need to be cooked to be tender and flavorful,” but “most of those cuts take time and a lot of labor.”
In most instances cost increases leave restaurant owners with two less-than-ideal options: they can absorb those costs or pass them to customers by charging more.
Most restaurants operate on profit margins of 3% to 5% before taxes, according to an analysis from the National Restaurant Association, leaving little room to maneuver.
“I don't know where the ceiling is,” Reilly said. “Forever there was discussion about a $25 burger. Now it’s how do people feel about a $30 burger?”
This shit was $2.00 five months ago.
A $.50 price hike on a promo based around a team expected to win less than 20 games.
A $.50 price hike on a promo based around a team expected to win less than 20 games.
Fuck the haters.
#TheDistrict
I haven’t eaten anything at theIr restaurant since 2006.The motherfuckers don't use real cheese anyway!!!
Their shit is 60% cheese, 40% undisclosed
2013 was my departure from McD's
So the sodas and sweet teas are no longer $1?
Everything is smaller. Those greddy bastards are price gouging. While shrinking the food and amount that was in the packaging. Fucking fucks
$1.29 - $1.69 depending on location
Absolutely bro. Isn't that LITERALLY what a message board is for?
Read...type opinion...
Yeah they had to make the bun smaller to make the smaller meat stick out, otherwise.....
Pleasantries.
These stories soon reached the White House Office of Digital Strategy, which tracked the meme as one of many exaggerated examples of the nation’s economic woes, according to a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to reflect internal discussions. In reality, inflation has been steadily subsiding, and last week the government reported price hikes had eased yet again in October. The average Big Mac nationally as of this summer cost $5.58, up from $4.89 — or roughly 70 cents — before Biden took office, according to an index maintained by the Economist. That’s up more than 10 percent, but it’s not $16.
Is McDonald’s opening a coffee shop chain called CosMc’s?
People on social media are lovin’ the supersized McMystery of a coffee shop that appears to be a new restaurant from fast-food giant McDonald’s. NBC’s Maggie Vespa reports for TODAY.
People on social media are lovin’ the supersized McMystery of a coffee shop that appears to be a new restaurant from fast-food giant McDonald’s. NBC’s Maggie Vespa reports for TODAY.
McDonald’s pushed customers to the brink on price. They’re starting to push back
Corporate America may be bumping up against the limit of its power to keep raising prices as consumers in some markets cry uncle.
At McDonald’s, which has repeatedly boasted about its ability to raise menu prices without denting sales, executives are finally acknowledging that customers need a break.
On Monday, as the burger chain reported weaker-than-expected sales at its US stores, CEO Chris Kempczinski addressed McDonald’s “affordability” problem, and indicated the chain would cut prices on some menu items.
“Eating at home has become more affordable,” Kempczinski said.
He’s right: Grocery prices are still high, but they rose just 1.3% overall in 2023, while dining out surged 5.2%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.
That’s putting pressure on lower-income consumers, a vital base for the chain.
“We actually saw that cohort” — customers making $45,000 or less — “decrease in the most recent quarter,” he added.
Kempczinski didn’t offer details on the timing or size of any price cuts. But his focus on affordability marked a shift from just a few months ago, when he boasted that US menu prices, which went up as much as 10% in 2023 alone, weren’t deterring sales.
“Even though we’re pushing through pricing, the consumer is tolerating it well,” he said in October analyst call.
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Because most McDonald’s restaurants in the United States are independently owned, prices vary depending on where you are. (So if you find yourself pulling off the highway for a quick bite at a travel center in Darien, one of the richest towns in America, you can reasonably expect your meal to cost significantly more than you would at a suburban drive-thru outside of Des Moines.)
Still, up until recently, McDonald’s found most customers were still willing to pay. And even now, wealthier customers appear undeterred, Kempczinski said Monday.
For middle- and high-income groups, “we’re not seeing any real change in behavior,” he said. “We continue to gain share with those groups. But the battle ground is certainly with that low-income consumer.”
In other words, it may be time to bring back the Dollar Menu. Kempczinski said McDonald’s would double down on its “D123” strategy, which prices some items between $1 and $3.
Fast food is linked to fatty liver disease and getting cirrhosis. Cirrhosis isn't just about alcohol.
Muscle Wasting
Going insane from high ammonia levels, coma.
Internal Bleeding
Bloated Gut full of fluid, fluid in legs
A liver transplant is as almost like getting a heart. High immune rejection rates and 25% death rate for those that get one. I would do Subway and Chipotle.
Many of you are in food deserts with fast food all over the place, because they are trying to kill you.
Muscle Wasting
Going insane from high ammonia levels, coma.
Internal Bleeding
Bloated Gut full of fluid, fluid in legs
A liver transplant is as almost like getting a heart. High immune rejection rates and 25% death rate for those that get one. I would do Subway and Chipotle.
Many of you are in food deserts with fast food all over the place, because they are trying to kill you.
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The FTC and DOJ think McDonald’s ice cream machines should be legal to fix
The agencies asked the US Copyright Office to extend the right to repair to ‘commercial and industrial equipment.’
By Gaby Del Valle
Mar 14, 2024
www.theverge.com
The agencies asked the US Copyright Office to extend the right to repair to ‘commercial and industrial equipment.’
By Gaby Del Valle
Mar 14, 2024
The FTC and DOJ want to make sure it’s legal to repair McDonald’s ice cream machines
Soft serve machine outages can cost business owners as much as $625 a day — and they can’t legally fix them on their own.
www.theverge.com
I’m a dietitian — here’s what I eat at McDonald’s to stay healthy when my Happy Meal-fanatic kids drag me there
By David Landsel
March 12, 2024
nypost.com
By David Landsel
March 12, 2024
I’m a dietitian — here’s what I eat at McDonald’s to stay healthy when my Happy Meal-fanatic kids drag me there
She’s lovin’ it — to an extent.
nypost.com
Krispy Kreme shares jump as US partnership with McDonald's goes national
Krispy Kreme, opens new tab said its donuts would be available across McDonald's, opens new tab U.S. restaurants by the end of 2026 as the companies expand a pilot project, sending its shares surging 23% on Tuesday. The companies were testing the program in 160 McDonald's restaurants in the Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky areas as part of the partnership that began in October, opens new tab 2022. The phased roll-out of the program will begin in the second half of 2024, the companies said.
By Reuters
March 26, 2024
Krispy Kreme, opens new tab said its donuts would be available across McDonald's, opens new tab U.S. restaurants by the end of 2026 as the companies expand a pilot project, sending its shares surging 23% on Tuesday. The companies were testing the program in 160 McDonald's restaurants in the Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky areas as part of the partnership that began in October, opens new tab 2022. The phased roll-out of the program will begin in the second half of 2024, the companies said.
By Reuters
March 26, 2024
Fast foodies are getting fed up with price hikes at the drive-thru
McDonald’s is vowing to focus more on affordability after it joined a handful of major restaurant brands seeing consumers balk at pricier menu items.
By Christine Romans
Feb. 7, 2024
www.nbcnews.com
1972 McDonalds Print Ad In Ebony Magazine
McDonald’s is vowing to focus more on affordability after it joined a handful of major restaurant brands seeing consumers balk at pricier menu items.
By Christine Romans
Feb. 7, 2024
Fast foodies are getting fed up with price hikes at the drive-thru
McDonald’s is vowing to focus more on affordability after it joined a handful of major restaurant brands seeing consumers balk at pricier menu items.
1972 McDonalds Print Ad In Ebony Magazine
McDonald’s brings back bagels — breakfast staple it discontinued in 2020
Thousands of McDonald’s locations have put bagels back on the menu — after the company discontinued the breakfast item four years ago.
Lisa Fickenscher
March 29, 2024
nypost.com
Thousands of McDonald’s locations have put bagels back on the menu — after the company discontinued the breakfast item four years ago.
Lisa Fickenscher
March 29, 2024
McDonald’s brings back bagels — breakfast staple it discontinued in 2020
“I am hearing from operators who just rolled out that they are selling more bagels in one day than an entire week five years ago.”
nypost.com
McDonald's Fried by Fans Over Dollar Menu Prices
Riled-up customers have been pushing back against the Golden Arches over the changes to its famous Dollar Menu, which advertises $1, $2 and $3 items. But as one salty fan pointed out on TikTok, their local McDonald's location didn't include any items actually priced at $1. The cheapest food items on the menu were a McChicken and small French fries, priced at $1.99 each.
CARLY SILVA
MAR 30, 2024
Riled-up customers have been pushing back against the Golden Arches over the changes to its famous Dollar Menu, which advertises $1, $2 and $3 items. But as one salty fan pointed out on TikTok, their local McDonald's location didn't include any items actually priced at $1. The cheapest food items on the menu were a McChicken and small French fries, priced at $1.99 each.
CARLY SILVA
MAR 30, 2024
McDonald’s buys all of its Israeli franchise restaurants amid damage from Middle East turmoil
By Maisie Linford and Anna Cooban, CNN
April 4, 2024
The “Golden Arches" of McDonald’s in the Israeli Dead Sea resort town of Ein Bokek, pictured in March 2021.
By Maisie Linford and Anna Cooban, CNN
April 4, 2024
The “Golden Arches" of McDonald’s in the Israeli Dead Sea resort town of Ein Bokek, pictured in March 2021.
“It took one Google search to discover that McDonalds has raised their prices at more than TRIPLE the rate of inflation since 2014, well before the pandemic. The company also recently created more low-budget menu items because customers complained about the prices, stopped frequenting them as much and as a result, they took a rare loss in profits.
The issue isn’t that McDonalds is facing higher operational costs. The issue is that McDonalds got greedy, customers got sick of it and they’re using the media to spin a different narrative. Bad journalism.”
Burger King was my first job in HS.
I used to bust they ass in the head er'week for boxes of those BK Broiler patties. Nigga be at home eating goowd....
Had the steak ,egg and cheese bagel the other day...the steak is half the size it uses to be...McDonald’s brings back bagels — breakfast staple it discontinued in 2020
Thousands of McDonald’s locations have put bagels back on the menu — after the company discontinued the breakfast item four years ago.
Lisa Fickenscher
March 29, 2024
McDonald’s brings back bagels — breakfast staple it discontinued in 2020
“I am hearing from operators who just rolled out that they are selling more bagels in one day than an entire week five years ago.”
