How the $17 Desk Salad Won
As food prices surge, fast casual has somehow landed in the sweet spot between expensive fast food and bloated restaurants.
The fast-food outrage began with a burger and fries. Last summer, Financial Times journalist Sam Learner tweeted a photo of menu prices at a Connecticut McDonald’s, showing $17.59 for a Big Mac combo meal. “This was at a rest stop, but these McDonald’s prices are nuts right???”
It turned out the rest stop did have a particularly inflated price—the McDonald’s around the corner from the Bloomberg office today sells the same meal at about two-thirds that price—but still, that’s almost $12. And Mickey D’s isn’t alone. The average check size at fast-food chains has gone up 47% since 2019, according to Mark Kalinowski, chief executive officer of restaurant investing advisory firm Kalinowski Equity Research. He attributes the increase to both bigger orders and, of course, inflation.