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Fast food

Fast-food chains may need to offer more value meals to lure customers

by Savannah Maher
May 13, 2024
McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut have reported soft sales as customers reject inflated prices. That means franchises have to get creative.
Fast-food restaurants hope that meal deals will bring back patrons who feel that eating out has become too expensive.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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The days of free refills may be over

by Janet Nguyen
May 13, 2024
McDonald’s announced that it would phase out its self-service machines by the end of 2032. More restaurants may follow suit.
Self-serve refill machines will be phased out at McDonald's by 2032.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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As drive-thrus get bigger, some cities aren't lovin' it

by Kai Ryssdal and Sean McHenry
Apr 18, 2024
The rise of online ordering drives restaurant chains to build more drive-thrus, but traffic and walkability concerns have led to bans.
Cars swarm the drive-thrus at a CosMc's in Bolingbrook, Illinois. The brand, owned by McDonald's, only serves customers in drive-thru lanes.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
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How fast casual restaurants pick new locations

by Kristin Schwab
Apr 16, 2024
"There's a lot of science and a little bit of art" involved in finding the perfect place, a Chipotle executive says.
Shake Shack has cracked the code on scouting locations, says hospitality consultant Talia Berman.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Teens have "kept the economy going," and their workforce numbers show it

by Kai Ryssdal , Sarah Leeson and Sean McHenry
Jan 29, 2024
"About 37% of teens worked last year," says Abha Bhattarai of The Washington Post. "These teens are really excited," employers tell her.
Teen employment reached a 14-year high in 2023, according to the Labor Department.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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How expensive fast food can explain rising economic equality

by Kai Ryssdal and Sarah Leeson
Jan 17, 2024
Fast food workers' wages are up as much as 30% since 2020. That has had real costs for businesses, but real benefits for society.
In the fast food sector, where many workers in the bottom 10% of the income distribution are employed, wages went up by 5.7% when adjusted for inflation between 2020 and 2022, says Eric Levitz of Vox.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Franchises are big business, but they're adjusting to economic headwinds

by Matt Levin
Sep 22, 2023
Franchisees get help with marketing and branding, but the corporate parent can’t do much about high interest rates and labor costs.
McDonald's royalty fees will rise from 4% to 5% for some franchisees, according to a company email viewed by Marketplace.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Fast food menu hacks are taking over TikTok

by Kristin Schwab
Apr 5, 2023
They create both chaos and money-making opportunities for businesses.
The rise of social media and digital ordering has spawned a slew of menu hacks and complex orders.
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images
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How fast-food chains are buffeted and buoyed by inflation

by Matt Levin
Feb 2, 2023
Many have higher expenses and are raising prices, but more consumers now have a taste for their relatively inexpensive meals.
Sales at fast-food chain Subway surged last year. But it’s by no means boom times for the industry.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
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Panel will set wages and conditions for 500,000 California fast food workers

by Meghan McCarty Carino
Sep 5, 2022
The approach is rare in the U.S., but common in other industrialized countries.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the FAST Recovery Act on Labor Day.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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