(NewsNation) — It wasn’t that long ago that fast food used to be an affordable option for American families. Now, not so much. The days of dollar menus and “buy-one, get-one-free” offers are gone as the restaurant chains continue to raise prices in the name of inflation.
Nearly 50 million Americans eat fast food every day because it’s quick, good and cheap — or at least it used to be.
Fast-food chains big and small are raising prices and there’s no indication the trend will be ending anytime soon.
McDonald’s, the nation’s largest fast-food chain, with more than 13,000 restaurants spread across the country, has raised its prices 10% this year on top of a 10% increase in 2022, according to Business Insider.
However, the price hikes vary from location to location because usually, it’s the franchise owners who set the costs.
Other fast-food chains like Chipotle, Starbucks and Pizza Hut have also raised prices. Fast-food prices jumped 6.2% over the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics October report.
Since June 2021, Chipotle has raised its prices five times, with its more recent increase in October by 3%, Business Insider reported. Plus, Starbucks said it hasn’t ruled out additional price hikes for this year on a recent revenue call, the report said.
Initially, inflation was catching all the blame for rising prices, but now it’s showing signs of slowing down.
Quick-service restaurants are still dealing with the rising cost of food products and the increasing cost of labor.
Starting next year in California, the new Fast Recovery Act will raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $22 an hour and the cost will be passed on to customers.
Powell said it’s likely fast food prices will keep going up for the next year at the most.
“The levee is starting to break,” Tim Powell with Foodservice IP said. “There’s only so much that a restaurant can do. They try to keep prices within a 25% food cost range. They’re not able to maintain that with labor and with food costs where they are.”
Customers have started noticing the price changes and they don’t like it. But when it comes to more upscale chains like Starbucks and Chipotle, Powell said while customers may complain, they will still pay the price because they like their preferred product so much.