2022 Fast food

Would you believe there’s a new “golden age” of fast food? Among the Top 10 chains, more than 1,000 units have popped up in the last year or so, all reflecting the double-digit sales consumers are ringing up.

Trying to please all those fast food lovers showing up in the drive-thru lanes, chains are adding everything shy of glazed donut salads and pork rind sundaes to their menus to make consumers lick their chops in anticipation.

They’ve got the meats!

Here’s a quick review of what’s in store the next time you venture out for a quick bite to eat:

Chipotle: Chipotle said it is trying out a new chicken option, Chicken Al Pastor, at 94 restaurants in Denver and Indianapolis. The chain is also adding new menu bowls and tacos based on the ‘88 Club -- a Dallas Cowboys championship team. For example, the "Michael Irvin Bowl" has chicken, brown rice, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, cheese, lettuce, and some guacamole and queso blanco.

Sonic: Sonic is going north of the border for some inspiration with a cheeseburger inspired by Montréal steak.

McDonald’s: After it sold out of its new Chicken Big Mac in 10 days in the U.K., McD's has brought it to the States. It’s currently being tested in Miami, but if all goes well, it could start showing up in the franchisees’ other “hen houses” around the country.

Del Taco: Tortas – Spanish for sandwich – are regular menu items at sit-down Mexican restaurants, but Del Taco thinks fast food eaters would like them too. Soon, all 600-plus Del Taco locations will have three varieties of the new fully-stuffed 7-inch Epic Tortas – Chicken BLT, Crispy Chicken Guac, and Carne Asada & Queso. 

Popeyes: The New Orleans-flavored chain is thinking a little outside the box with Surf & Turf, a shrimp and chicken combo sandwich, and returning the 8-piece Hushpuppy Shrimp to the menu. 

Breakfast anyone?

Chick-fil-A: To try and please its breakfast bunch, Chick-fil-A is giving baked egg bites a whirl.

Hardee’s and Carl’s Junior: The pair aren’t copying each other, but since they're sister chains serving different parts of the country, both Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s are testing similar sandwiches served on King’s Hawaiian Bread. Both have breakfast and chicken sandwiches on King’s bread, but Carl’s is also giving a King Hawaiian double cheeseburger a shot as well.

McDonald’s: Ronald has decided that Americans would love a cheese Danish – resplendent with sweet cream cheese and vanilla sauce – so we’re getting one starting September 14 on the chain’s McCafé Bakery menu.

Wendy’s: If Wendy’s is part of your rise-and-shine, heads up, now on the chain’s breakfast menu are French toast sticks.

Seasonal delights

Who’s got the sweets? Plenty of seasonal pumpkin’y options to be found on menus, too. 

Chicken Salad Chick: The chain is offering a new pumpkin cheesecake for the season.

Freddy’s: Its Pumpkin Pie Concrete is set to return to the menu for a limited time, as well.

Starbucks: The caffeine queen has brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte for the 19th year, and with it, the first recurrence of the Apple Crisp Macchiato, now made with oat milk. 

Smoothie King: It is Fall, after all, so the smoothie chain is trying to do the same thing as Starbucks, but on the chilly end of the spectrum, by rolling out pumpkin drinks for the fall, plus two new (and permanent) coffee options – espresso and cold brew coffee.

Popeyes: If you want some dessert to go with your chicken sandwich order, Popeye’s is introducing Banana Cream Cake and bringing back those Chocolate Beignets that proved to be a big hit a couple of years ago. 

Non-meat alternatives are getting some new action, too.

Baja Fresh: After a successful trial, Baja Fresh is giving its Impossible Taco Combo, Fuego Impossible Burrito, and Impossible Bowl all permanent spots on the menu.

Burger King: Burger King is also testing a meatless chicken substitute at its Cincinnati-area stores.

Taco Bell: Not to be outdone, Taco Bell fans in Birmingham, Ala. are getting another reason to be cheesin’ for the season. For a limited time, they can buy the meat-free Crispy Melt Taco, resplendent with shredded cheddar, mozzarella, and Monterey pepper jack cheeses, plus warm nacho cheese sauce.

If it’s any indication of how far companies will go to fight inflation, McDonald’s franchisees in 16 U.S. markets have ditched the fast-food king’s long-standing Dollar Drinks offer. The Wall Street Journal reports that some store owners are raising beverage prices to neutralize the impact of continuing food inflation, although most locations still offer dollar beverages.

The company gave its franchisees the OK to nix the $1 drinks promotion back in January, according to The Journal. As an alternative, some of the operators who took advantage of that permission have shifted their marketing attention to the value menu. 

While a dollar here and there doesn’t sound like a franchisee back-breaker, it is a weighty concern. Anxiety over the Dollar Drink offer began late last year when McDonald's brass informed franchisees that food and beverage costs could climb as much as 12% per year – about $124,000 – for each restaurant. But drink prices aren’t the only thing McDonald’s franchisees have on their mind. With a recent shift in wages, they’ve also had to concern themselves with rising labor costs.

“Customers can always count on McDonald’s for great value, which remains an important part of our marketing strategy. Franchisees set prices and have the flexibility to create promotions that will drive demand locally,” McDonald’s said in a statement emailed to various news outlets.

Customers aren’t happy about the change

Even though the Dollar Drink dump hasn’t hit every market, McDonald’s customers are already voicing their frustrations.

“The only reason I have EVER gone to McDonald's was because of their 1 dollar drinks. Y’all just lost a lot of the people that only go for your drinks,” was a typical sentiment that unhappy customers voiced on social media.

"Corporate greed finally caught up to @McDonalds dollar drinks," another person ranted. "First the dollar tree now @McDonalds large drinks... what has the world come to?" another tweeted. 

McDonald’s isn’t alone

In all fairness, McDonald’s isn’t the only company toying with price changes. Fortune reports that Chipotle hiked its prices roughly 10% in 2021 and another 4% in the first quarter of this year.

Others on the price hike list include Wendy’s, which raised prices by 5%, and Domino’s, which increased the price of its $5.99 mix-and-match offer to $6.99. Officials say they don't have much of a choice when it comes to increasing prices.

“Look, inflation continued to move in a big way. We saw it wasn't going away, so we had to take the pricing action that we did," Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol said on the recent first-quarter conference call. "And hopefully, that won't continue to be the case. But if it has to be the case, we have, I think, the organization, the people, and the pricing power to do it, but it really is the last thing I'd like to do.”