Fast food and major chains have gotten absurd. I used a gift card at Red Robin. It was $19 before tip for a dry burger and bland fries. Two bucks more could’ve gotten me a gourmet meal at a five-star place just down the street. The value just isn’t there anymore. Eating local almost always tastes better, feels better, and costs the same or less. Why settle for mediocrity when better is right around the corner?

I can go to Chilis and get a REAL cheeseburger, fries, and a drink, for $10.99. If I'm in their free club, I get a free chips & salsa on every visit, too. If I leave a $2 tip (18%), it's only $12.99, which is about same as a standard burger/fries/drink combo at McDonald's.

Also, McDonald's burgers are among the worst in the business, with nearly every other burger place beating them easily. We now have Culvers entering our market, and their burgers and fries blow away everyone else. They have really wide menu, and are actually cheaper than everyone else.

McD is also losing out go the quickly rising chicken tender trend, where their nuggests also compare poorly.

Their best thing is breakfast, where they are still the leader, but they are getting expensive there, too.

They've opend up a couple of new outlets near me, and they are obviously getting ready to go robotic. The dining areas are empty, with no drink stations, condiments, or even dispensers for straws or napkins. There is a wall that blocks the view of the kitchen area, so you can't see who, or how many people are back there. It could be completely automated right now, and you'd never know it.

Yep and get waaaayyyyy better quality food

I expect it’s actually a political piece

Yeah 100% propaganda. Just read the headline. They want anti-genocide protestors in concentration camps.