quote:

Though I like the food, the pricing for "fast" food is becoming ridiculous. My son and I had two bacon cheeseburgers, one small order of fries and two drinks for $24. It's like the prices have gone up 40% or so in the last few months.

It's strictly about convenience. It's certainly not a "deal" to eat fast food, not even when you're buying off the dollar menu at McDonalds it's not. What you get for the money is always shite compared to what you pay for the convenience of getting it fast and not having to work to put it together, although you do work for it with the money you've earned.

I can quite easily get some 80/20, some ciabatta rolls, bacon, and gorgonzola, lettuce and 1 heirloom from Fresh Market and make a TON better burger on my grill outside, and for significantly less than what I can get and will pay for at 5 guys. Think about that.

Same thing goes for those who say "You can't get good food on a McDonalds budget."

Well sure... Not if you don't plan it out and want magic tricks, but if you buy smart, plan your meals, and freeze beans and the like you can not only eat with the same budget, but you can eat much much better food that is actually good for you. People who are addicted to it just don't want to hear that, and they're not looking for answers, but there are answers.

In any case, the price for Canes chicken fingers, and Five Guys burgers is all about convenience, and you pay for that. With the price of gas, it's a given it's going to increase incrementally in keeping with the factors associated with the price of shipping, energy, etc, and one thing you'll notice is it rarely if ever goes down in price afterwards. The margins are still the same, as is the cost of being in high profile areas where the price of real estate is also high, as is everything else. It's like going to a Circle K and wondering why the price for milk is so much higher than at a grocery store. Nobody does that, because they realize it's convenience, ie "convenience store," but for some reason with fast food I don't think it registers, but that's all it's about in my estimation, convenience.