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McDonald's has a traffic problem and its executives know it. Now they have a plan they think will turn it around. The company lost more than 500 million customers to close competitors since 2012, Chris Kempczinski, McDonald's USA President told investors gathered in Chicago Wednesday.

or decades, customers have complained that McDonald’s straws were pretty much useless when used to drink milkshakes.... But now, with the announcement of several new Shamrock Shakes, the fast food giant has swung the pendulum far in the other direction, with a straw that’s overengineered – seriously, two engineering firms worked on it – to look more like mountain climbing equipment than it does any straw we’ve ever seen. Here’s the result of design, a determined product development team, and a 3D printer: A ridiculous item like this requires an equally bombastic name, which McDonald’s has, of course, bestowed upon...

McDonald’s is known for its Big Mac, Happy Meals, and creepy clown mascot, but not for trying to be innovative with technology. Yet, the fast food chain restaurant teamed up with aerospace and robotic engineering firms to reinvent the straw and make it easier to drink its Chocolate Shamrock shakes.

Mom-and-pop shops aren't the only ones closing their doors to support immigrants as part of the "A Day Without Immigrants" protests. Several McDonald's locations have also shuttered for the day. The nationwide event is a combination of a protest and a strike. It is in response to President Donald Trump's immigration agenda, which has included a pledge to build a wall along the Mexican border and enact a travel ban on citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. "The purpose of the protest is to show just how disruptive immigration changes by the government could impact consumers' everyday life," Darren Tristano, president...

Four McDonald's restaurants in the South Bay are testing out a new sandwich on their menu. It's called the McDonald’s Crab Sandwich. McDonald’s wanted to continue experimenting with local Bay Area flavors just like the garlic fries they introduced back in May. The Crab Sandwich will have snow crab meat on a sliced sourdough bun. When asked why McDonald's is using snow crab and not local Dungeness, McDonald's said: "The McDonald’s sourcing team had to weigh a variety of different factors when they approached how and where they were sourcing crab." The sandwich also comes with celery and seasoned mayo...

McDonald’s is planning to launch a crab sandwich in the San Francisco Bay area. The fast good giant says the sandwich consists of snow crab meat mixed with mayonnaise and served with tomato and lettuce on a sourdough bun. …

I'm thinking of seeing it tonight (Patriot's Day is sold out). It sounds really interesting, reviews are luke warm. Keaton's performance is generally lauded. Has anyone seen it? If so, would you recommend it?

Massachusetts is in the midst of debating the Fight for 15, with proposals on the table to raise the minimum wage that high at least for a few industries including big box stores and fast food outlets. That would have a serious impact on businesses such as McDonald’s, which hires a lot of younger workers looking for their first entries on their resumes, particularly if they don’t have a secondary school education. While we’re on the subject, if you happen to be in the Boston area be sure to stop by one McDonald’s where you can meet their new...

A Boston McDonald’s is set to launch a machine that dispenses the fast-food chain’s trademark sandwich, the Big Mac. The automated cheeseburger machine will offer three different sizes: traditional, the Mac Jr. and the Grand Mac, according to Metro Boston. The sandwiches are expected to be free of charge and available for a short time period. People in the area can obtain the stacked sandwich without conversing with any humans, which seems to be part of a trend for casual restaurants.

Will it fare better than McDonald’s has?Taco Bell has entered a brave new world: China. The Doritos Locos taco inventor just unveiled a new store in in Shanghai and plans to have 1,000 restaurants operating in the country by 2022, according to the Wall Street Journal. This new push is a leap of faith for Yum China, which also oversees the KFC and Pizza Hut brands in the country. Yum previously operated a handful of concepts in China under the name Taco Bell Grande, but all closed by 2008. The menu at this new Taco Bell is different from the...

An article by Lance Selfa, a columnist at the "Socialist Worker", argues that economic growth does not help working people: “One of the orthodox assumptions of both liberal and conservative economics is that a more productive economy leads to higher living standards. According to the theory, when workers are better educated and better trained, and when technology is intelligently deployed to increase economic efficiency, the overall economy produces more and workers earn more. Or so the theory goes. What's the evidence?” In fact, Selfa's argument has been routinely rejected by economists for the following reasons. First, the article ignores the...

In light of several cities passing $15 an hour minimum wage laws, McDonald's will install self-serve kiosks at many locations around the country. Wendy's has already gone the automated ordering route and othe fast food outlets are seriously considering it. Supporters of the $15 hourly wage claim that few jobs will be lost as  result of automation. They say the self serve kiosks will make workers more efficient in dealing with the ordering process. That may be true (as explained here). But the near doubling of the minimum wage in most cities will be done incrementally, ostensibly to soften...

A former McDonald's CEO is laying the blame on the "Fight for $15" movement as for why the company is embracing automation in its restaurants. McDonald's will install self-serve kiosks in its restaurants around the country to replace human cashiers. Let’s start with automation. In 2013, when the Fight for $15 was still in its growth stage, I and others warned that union demands for a much higher minimum wage would force businesses with small profit margins to replace full-service employees with costly investments in self-service alternatives. At the time, labor groups accused business owners of crying wolf. It turns...

THE inventor of the Big Mac has died at the age of 98. Michael “Jim” Delligatti came up with the iconic McDonald’s burger nearly 50 years ago. The franchise-owner from Uniontown Pennsylvania put the stacked treat on sale at one of his restaurants in 1968. McDonald’s initially did not approve of deviating from its strict formula of simple hamburgers, cheeseburgers and milkshakes. But the creation of a two-patty burger with lettuce, cheese, gherkins, onions and “special sauce” proved an instant hit, and was rolled out to his other 47 outlets across the US.

THE inventor of the Big Mac has died at the age of 98. Michael “Jim” Delligatti came up with the iconic McDonald’s burger nearly 50 years ago. McDonald’s initially did not approve of deviating from its strict formula of simple hamburgers, cheeseburgers and milkshakes. But the creation of a two-patty burger with lettuce, cheese, gherkins, onions and “special sauce” proved an instant hit, and was rolled out to his other 47 outlets across the US. McDonald’s spokeswoman Kerry Ford confirmed that Delligatti died at his home in Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh, surrounded by his family on Monday night. He opened his...

The recent actions of a McDonald's employee in Kansas are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of police officers and their supporters. A Topeka employee at the fast food chain has been fired and is currently facing criminal charges after local law enforcement say the worker put mustard in an officer’s beverage. . . . Tom Dobski, the franchisee owner of the north Topeka McDonald's where the officer found mustard in his Dr. Pepper, says the company is "shocked by the isolated actions of a single employee."

McDonald’s is testing the use of fresh, never frozen beef for its Quarter Pounder hamburgers. The fast food giant says the tests are being carried out in 75 of its restaurants in the Tulsa, Oklahoma-area. It says Quarter Pounders in the restaurants will be made with fresh beef that’s cooked when ordered. …

ROCK TAVERN - A strike that could have interfered with food deliveries this week to McDonald's franchises in the Hudson Valley, New York City, Long Island and northern New Jersey has been averted. The 75 drivers, represented by Teamsters Local 445 in Rock Tavern, voted in late October to reject the contract offer made by Martin-Brower Inc. Teamsters representative Jerry Ebert said the company significantly improved the offer after its initial rejection. "We won much better pay, more time off, an easier grievance process, and a $1000 signing bonus for each driver, among other increases, with no givebacks," Ebert said....

Every iconic franchise began somewhere. Every one started with a single store opening its doors to a public that had never heard of it and didn’t know what to expect. These entrepreneurs had no idea what they were launching—and no inkling that their concept would take the world by storm. What did these original outlets look like? What do they look like now? Some of the world’s biggest chains have preserved their first stores so customers can get a look.

CHAMBLEE, Ga. - A special celebration took place in Chamblee Thursday morning in honor of a beloved McDonald's employee. October 27 not only marked Willie Calhoun's 73rd birthday, but also his 59th anniversary working at the fast-food chain. "Mr. Willie," as his friends call him, started working at McDonald's when he was 14-years-old and has been at the Chamblee location on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard for more than two decades. "I started off in Sandy Springs, to two more stores and ended up here," he said. "This is where I've been a very long time." Thursday morning, a party was held...