Fast food is getting real expensive (McDonald: 2013, wages, restaurants)

[HappyRider]

I don't know if anybody has noticed that getting a burger, fries and a drink is costing close to $10. Try 5 Guys Shake Shack or even Chick-fil-a. At the same time I can eat at Chili's for about the same price, may be a little more. $5 is all I am prepared to pay for fast food. I don't know what is at work here? There is a lot of talk about raising the min wage but that hasn't happened here yet and in any case nobody is paid min wage anyway. You can still get decent lunch for $5 so may be those $10 fast food burger joints will get the message.

[pman]

beef prices are at multidecade highs. I would make the case that you may be mixing up "fast" with low quality. 5 guys and shake shack arguably taste better and offer better quality than chili's, they just provide the "fast" experience...perhaps there's little reason to go to chili's anyway. you can still get a decent lunch at shake shack for the same price, just be careful what you order. don't get the special items at SS, just get a regular old cheeseburger

[HappyRider]

If you think eating a $12 burger meal at 5 Guys in a noisy mall is the same as eating at a restaurant is the same, then be my guest. I can still get a pub quality burger and waffle fries at Champps, complete with china and silverware, for $10. Yes, the final bill is perhaps closer to $15 but that is the price for being served in a nice surrounding.

[rotodome]

As mentioned, food prices are high right now due to the drought in CA and other factors. Plus there is such a thing as inflation. Is $5 for two food items and a drink a realistic expectation for what prepared food should cost in 2013?

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by rotodome

As mentioned, food prices are high right now due to the drought in CA and other factors. Plus there is such a thing as inflation. Is $5 for two food items and a drink a realistic expectation for what prepared food should cost in 2013?

At the Dominican corner store Hoagie/cheesesteak-$2.75, Chips-$.25, Drink-$1.00

[PHLondoner]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

If you think eating a $12 burger meal at 5 Guys in a noisy mall is the same as eating at a restaurant is the same, then be my guest. I can still get a pub quality burger and waffle fries at Champps, complete with china and silverware, for $10. Yes, the final bill is perhaps closer to $15 but that is the price for being served in a nice surrounding.

Champs? Chilis? "Nice surrounding"? Yikes

[eastwestcoast]

Perhaps part of the reason casual sit-down is so cheap is because many of the restaurants are suffering from competition with fast-casual. Or maybe because they can pay employees low wages since they're expected to receive tips?

One of the nice things about Philly seems to be that you can get great food from local shops for the same, if not lower, prices as the fast-food and fast-casual chains. Also, with the exception of good but overpriced fast-food like Shake Shack, most of the drive-through type restaurants in the city are abysmal compared even to the same chain in other areas. Not sure why this is, probably something to do with franchise ownership and management, but at least it's helped me prioritize ordering from local small businesses rather than running out to McDonalds or Taco Bell for fast, cheap food. I do wish we could get In-N-Out in Philly though... nothing here comes close to the value of their burgers.

[pman]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

If you think eating a $12 burger meal at 5 Guys in a noisy mall is the same as eating at a restaurant is the same, then be my guest. I can still get a pub quality burger and waffle fries at Champps, complete with china and silverware, for $10. Yes, the final bill is perhaps closer to $15 but that is the price for being served in a nice surrounding.

I've eaten at five guys for less than $5. If I were gonna go to a restaurant to have a burger that cost that much I'd pick a better one. didn't champs go bust on market east? they offered blaring tv's and substandard food.

[mancat100]

Wendy's value menu. I can get a burger, baked potato and a small chili for cheap. It covers all the food groups too - meat, starch and fat.

[FBJ]

And think about it what it would be if they raised minimum wage