'I can't charge $20 for a Happy Meal': McDonald's franchisee responds to California's new fast-food worker wages

Tech Insider : Economy
An aerial view of McDonald's on Crenshaw Blvd, south Los Angeles on Friday, March 29, 2024.
McDonald's.

Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Fast-food chains like Burger King, Shake Shack, and KFC are doubling down on digital order kiosks — but watch out, you'll probably end up spending more

Tech Insider
Illustration of a dollar sign hovering over a kiosk.
Kiosks are becoming ubiquitous at fast-food locations across the US.

Golden Sikorka/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

I visited a McDonald's test kitchen to try its biggest menu overhaul in a decade. The burger patties are a big improvement, but the new Big Mac is too sweet.

Tech Insider
Two Big Mac burgers side by side. On the left is the new version, on the right is the old version.
The new and the old Big Mac burgers.

Harry Kersh / Business Insider

A 105-year-old man who has been going to Bojangles every week for decades was thrown a surprise party for his birthday by the restaurant

Tech Insider
A photo of Bojangles regional manager Horace Spencer and Charlie Lentz at Lentz's 105th birthday celebrations at a Bojangles restaurant in Winston-Salem, NC in March 2024
Charlie Lentz (right) pictured at his 105th birthday celebrations at a Bojangles restaurant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with Bojangles regional manager Horace Spencer (left).

Courtesy of Bojangles

Fast-food restaurants in California are laying off workers to prepare for the $20 minimum wage hike

Tech Insider
A Pizza Hut store is seen on November 01, 2023 in Austin, Texas
Two Pizza Hut franchisees in California are among those who are laying off workers.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Chick-fil-A is ditching its antibiotic-free chicken pledge after just 5 years

Tech Insider
A Chick-fil-A restaurant
A Chick-fil-A restaurant

Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Photos show what it was really like to eat at McDonald's in the 1950s

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vintage mcdonalds cars
The first official McDonald's franchise opened on April 15, 1955, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

REUTERS/Jim Young

A California McDonald's franchisee says fast food would be 'unaffordable' if she raised prices enough to cover the new $20 minimum wage

Tech Insider : Economy
An employee fills a bag with French fries at a branch of the McDonald's fast food chain on Martin-Luther-Strasse in Giesing
McDonald's fries.

Matthias Balk/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

We tried Jack in the Box's first new burger in 8 years, and it's way better than a Big Mac

Tech Insider
Jack in the Box's Smashed Jack
Jack in the Box's Smashed Jack sold out in two weeks. It was expected to be in stores for six weeks.

Nancy Luna/Business Insider

Fast-food diners are using loyalty apps to get deals on cheap — or free — food as prices soar

Tech Insider
A person sits outside McDonald's on the Upper West Side on May 28, 2021 in New York City.
McDonald's customers are using loyalty apps to get deals.

Noam Galai/Getty Images

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