Fast Food - Changes

[dk001]

Been seeing it in the news, social media, and in the financial areas … the difficulty fast food places are encountering.
I know in my smallish town, we have had a number of them close this year (lack of business) yet the small mom and pop restaurants are still open. Not sure, but this may be mostly a US issue.

Personally my use had decreased by quite a bit, 70% or so. Cost, taste, and portion size has been my biggest reason.

For those who do dine at fast food joints, has your use of them changed this year (or last year) and if you want, post why.

 

[S.B.G]

I've stopped eating at fast food joints many years ago. Generally speaking, they are quite unhealthy and, in my opinion, don't qualify as food.

 

[maflynn]

I don't go, I have gotten a breakfast sandwich from McDonalds once in a blue moon, and I think if I go to chick-fil-a once a year, that's a lot.

 

[Mousse]

I don't eat fast food. Years ago, the appeal of fast food was that it was cheap. It ain't cheap anymore.😐 Eating at a fast food joint cost as much as a casual dining joint.

IMO, fast food is the result of genius marketing tricking us into believing there is an 's' in the words "Fast Food."😮

 

[maflynn]

Coincidentally, this came across my youtube page today.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I only eat at fast food places if I’m travelling and there are no other options. Other than that I give them a wide berth.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I hardly ever eat at fast food places, - I never much cared for that sort of food, and rarely indulged, except in student days after pubs closed and (almost invariably) after several beers - but, during, and since, the pandemic, I will admit that I have occasionally availed of the services of Deliveroo or JustEat.

Thus, on occasion, - roughly every six to eight weeks - at week-ends, if I don't fancy cooking, I will order a take-out: This will take the form of stuff that I don't (or can't) cook at home, - but still like to eat - such as, either a pizza (from an Italian place, as, obviously, I don't have a pizza oven), or a really good curry (from an Indian restaurant), or, perhaps, fish'n'chips (a perennial classic), or a Thai or Japanese dish.

However, if I am eating out, I prefer to eat in a proper restaurant, - be it ethnic, or a more formal place - or a pub (with a decent menu), rather than a fast food spot.

 

[KaliYoni]

we have had a number of them close this year (lack of business) yet the small mom and pop restaurants are still open

The US stock market has noticed this as well. Fast food customers are switching to casual-dining chains and locally owned restaurants. Why pay table service prices for fast food? For example, Bloomberg ran this story last month:

For many of the casual-dining brands, it’s been a story of small adjustments. Long seen by consumers as far too expensive for what they offered — how much better is it, really, to sit down (and pay a tip) at a Chili’s rather than grab a meal at Chipotle? — they have made incremental but well-targeted changes that drew diners looking to get maximum value for their money: trimming prices, spiffing up interiors and pouring money into marketing. Some are also working hard to tempt clients with more expensive items such as drinks and desserts once they’re through the door.

Even Applebee’s, which has struggled with years of weak sales, seems to be making the formula work. In March, it relaunched a promotion featuring two entrees and an appetizer for $25. The response was swift, as diners flocked to sample honey-glazed chicken and six-ounce sirloin steaks. Sales climbed last quarter for the first time since 2023.

Telling inflation-weary diners how much their night out would cost was key, said John Peyton, CEO of Dine Brands Global Inc., which owns Applebee’s.

“That was sort of a moment where you bonk your head and you say: ‘Wow, we had the answer all along,’” Peyton said in an interview.

As Cava, Chipotle Sink, Casual-Dining Rivals Stage a Comeback

Casual dining outperforms as fast-food stumbles.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[BigMcGuire]

Price is the biggest reason why I stopped eating out. Obviously, I'm in NorCal so prices here are for the super rich...

$80 for 2 pizzas is ridiculous (pick up, not delivery). $40+ for an El Pollo Loco family meal is a lot for chicken, beans, and rice. Even McDonalds is approaching the $40 amount for 2 people eating there. Don't get me started on Subway and other restaurants. Prices have more than doubled at some places.

And yes, food quality has declined significantly. It could be the bad taste of the price or my age but ... where I eat doesn't taste as good as I remember it...

So yeah, we've almost 100% stopped eating out. And when we do eat out we remark on how the expensive slop they served us - we could make on our own for half the cost - and have it taste much better. We've actually started cooking together, making stuff together - not only is it better, LESS than half the cost, but it's more fun than hopping in the car, waiting in a long line, shelling out $$$, and then driving back home.

Lot of these fast food companies - pinching every penny they can, squeezing every bit of profit that they can (quality suffering badly), raising prices so much - coming back to bite them.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I hardly ever eat at fast food places, - I never much cared for the sort of food, and rarely indulged, except in student days after pubs closed and (almost invariably) after several beers - but, during, and since, the pandemic, I will admit that I have occasionally availed of the services of Deliveroo or JustEat.

Thus, on occasion, - roughly every six to eight weeks - at week-ends, if I don't fancy cooking, I will order a take-out: This will take the form of stuff that I don't (or can't) cook at home, - but still like to eat - such as, either a pizza (from an Italian place), or a really good curry (from an Indian restaurant), or, perhaps, fish'n'chips (a perennial classic), or a Thai or Japanese dish.

However, if I am eating out, I prefer a proper restaurant, - ethnic, or more formal - or a pub (with a decent menu), rater than a fast food spot.

I like my food on a plate not in a wrapper. My drinks in glass or china. Something you don't get at a fast food place.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I like my food on a plate not in a wrapper.

Well said.

As do I.

A proper plate.

My drinks in glass or china.

Again, amen to that: This is also very much the case for me.

I loathe plastic or paper cups. To my mind, they are an insult to beer, wine, tea or coffee.

Something you don't get at a fast food place.

Agreed.

But, you will get this in a pub, or a small trattoria, or ethnic places, (such as local Indian curry-houses), or a (good) sit down fish'n'chips spot.

 

[TechRunner]

We confine our fast food stops primarily to travel and my wife's on-again-off-agin addiction to Chick-Fil-A.

It's difficult to justify eating at a place like McDonald's when our favorite Mexican eatery can give us lunch specials with a bottomless basket of tortilla chips and drink refills for roughly the same price.

 

[KaliYoni]

Funny how the stuff we talk about here often goes in cycles…

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/whats-on-your-mind.2135938/page-821?post=32990238#post-32990238

;-)

 

[Garethe86]

Fast food, maybe once a week. Pizza, a couple times a month.

BTW, it's not cheaper to make a store bought big meal anymore, not with the price of beef, there will be a lot of casseroles, stews, and soups this winter.

 

[Bodhitree]

It’s been what fifteen years since I last grabbed a Big Mac meal on my way home from London after working at a remote site.

 

[Nermal]

Oddly enough, I wasn't sure what to have for lunch today. I might pop into McDonald's "for old time's sake", and also to see what the prices are like these days. I know they've crept up recently but I don't have any figures - but maybe I will in an hour or so

Edit: Well, a large Big Mac combo is now 15 NZD. I remember when they were $5.45 ($4.95 for the medium combo, plus 50c to upgrade to large). I think they were probably somewhere around $12 last time I was in there.

 

[jz0309]

I've always tried to avoid fast food as much as possible, but when traveling, often times there is no other choice when you get to a place in the middle of nowhere and need to charge your car or get gas ...

 

[ignatius345]

I've always tried to avoid fast food as much as possible, but when traveling, often times there is no other choice when you get to a place in the middle of nowhere and need to charge your car or get gas ...

Same. In a lot of places on the road something like a McDonald's is a very sure bet, especially when you've got kids in the mix and you get a pile of chicken nuggets, a probably decent bathroom and a happy meal toy and be on your way. They have it down to a science.

But day to day? I'm not popping into McDonald's more than maybe once every month or two when I get a craving for their fries.

 

[eyoungren]

Up until the end of February there was enough income between my wife and I to consistently eat out (fast food) between paychecks. Which was fine, because up until then there were four people in the house going four different places each day and so bringing home food was easy.

Then my wife lost her job and didn't get another one for three months (May). So, that meant zero eating out. Once we got on top of the accumulated bills, it was two more months (July) and by that time prices had really taken a rise. McDonalds and Burger King shouldn't cost $50+ for two people, especially when our house has four. Even Taco Bell runs to $30, and that's that I'm just getting two meals for my wife and I and quesadillas for the kids!

I can remember scraping up $4 in change in the late 1980s and being able to get two cheeseburgers, a large fry and a large drink at McDonalds. The price of that now is upwards of $10. Of course, inflation. I get it. But something's screwy somewhere.

The worst is the pricing in food delivery. Even with zero charge for a delivery, the food is even MORE expensive than if you go in-store.

It's nuts.

 

[Certificate of Excellence]

My use of QSR & FSR has changed dramatically. Pretty much I don't eat this segment all that much anymore. I'll still order out pizza for delivery or BK kids meals for the kiddos and stuff like that but drive-thru is pretty rare for me personally. McDonald's for example, I simply do not eat there unless under extreme duress. They have priced themselves out of the market as far as I'm concerned. I have never looked at them as a "quality" food rather a convenient and economical one, so the high $$ they are commanding now, I have zero intent to eat there - that is not what they are and that is not where their value has historically been for me. Let's ignore the stomach ache I get when I do have to eat there which I could get around when a burger was a buck but that is hardly the case now. Why would I ever pay up for a stomach ache lol. Let's also ignore the mile long ingredient lists - again when the food was cheap and fast, it made sense; not so much now. Im not bashing McD or FF specifically for that matter - they’re a convenient example is all. rather it is just the way that industry has responded to market pressures since C19. Where it traditionally was a penny margin volume game, now it is a high dollar ticket game. QSR & FSR have a really hard time providing value in the face of increasing COGs, labor, taxes (FICA etc) hence why we see a pivot away from
Volume sales and to more premium marketing allowing for a higher pricing (except it isn’t really). It’s still fast food.

In my area, BK has done the best at maintaining a comparatively stronger value statement but the same struggles impact them as well.

 

[bigglow]

I'm in my mid 40s and male. I cut out fast food completely years ago — not just because of rising prices but because of health. Since the original iPhone launch I’ve been on losartan + hydrochlorothiazide (for blood pressure) and rosuvastatin (for cholesterol), so I had to take a serious look at my diet and lifestyle.

Fast food, with all the sodium, refined carbs, and trans fats, was a big contributor to why I ended up needing medication in the first place. Since then I’ve switched to whole, minimally processed foods — mostly local vegetables, eggs, fish, and brown rice. I don’t smoke, I’ve never really tolerated alcohol, and I also cut out late-night screen time to improve my sleep (now steady at 8 hours/night).

The results have been dramatic:

• Weight: down to 77.1 kg from over 129 kg years ago
• BMI: ~25.7 → with the goal of 20.0
• Body fat: <15% (goal is 10%)
• Visceral fat: normal range
• Blood chemistry: cholesterol, triglycerides, and uric acid all normalized; HbA1c steady at 5.7
• Blood pressure: well controlled, trending toward normal levels even on lower med doses
• Resting heart rate: mid-60s → with the goal of low 40s
• Lifestyle: 23 hours/week of CrossFit, pickleball, and yoga

So for me, avoiding fast food isn’t even a question anymore. Cooking at home is cheaper, healthier, and a big part of why I was able to get off amlodipine last October, and why I hope to eventually reduce or even eliminate my last 2 of 3 meds.