The End of Cheap Fast Food Is Here (2026)

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Have you been to McDonald's lately? It's expensive.

[00:00:03]>> Just me or are fast food, fast casual places just getting so out of hand?

[00:00:09]>> $47 for two sandwiches. $47.

[00:00:15]What are we doing?

[00:00:16]>> These discounts are not discounting enough for me.

[00:00:19]>> What is going on everybody? Welcome back to the channel. We're going to be talking about something that hits every single one of us regardless of your tax bracket. Fast food. We all love fast food. It's delicious. is terrible for you. It's supposed to be cheap. It used to be the one thing that you can count on when money was tight. A quick cheap meal. Get in, get out. But now the prices are so ridiculous and people on internet are out here talking about it and hurting. And honestly, the numbers back them up. Let's get into it. Have you been to McDonald's lately? It's expensive. If you want a meal, it's like $8 to $9 for like a Big Mac meal. Like a Big Mac, a drink, and fries. How is it so expensive? I remember the good days when a Big Mac was like three bucks, a drink was under a dollar, the fries were like 75 cents for a medium. What happened?

[00:01:04]>> A Big Mac meal is way more than $8 to $9. So, I don't know where he is. But McDonald's, yeah, that was the good old days. That was the good old days. Like, and it's funny cuz he's talking as if this is like a super long time ago, but he's not wrong. A Big Mac was around $250 to $3 back in the early 2000s.

[00:01:21]Today you're looking over $10 and sometimes more depending on the location. And here's the problem.

[00:01:26]McDonald's menu prices, they have doubled a full 100% increase between 2014 and 2024 alone, according to Finance Buzz analysis of the 12 major chains. That's a lot of damn money.

[00:01:40]Meanwhile, overall inflation during the same period is about 31%. So McDonald's raised the prices more than three times the national inflation rate. Three times. and then they have the nerve to act surprised when people stop showing up. If it wasn't for my 12-year-old, I probably wouldn't order McDonald's at all. I love the fries, but the quality isn't great. And other than the fries, I'm not paying a whole lot of money just for very inadequate food. And you know, this world is getting out of hand when you pull up to McDonald's to get some fries and it's going to say $5.

[00:02:14]$5 for potatoes.

[00:02:18]$5 to cut up some little ass potatoes, put it in a fryer. $5.

[00:02:24]McDonald's.

[00:02:27]Yeah, McDonald's, you getting out of hand. I'm going to need y'all to cut that out >> now. Okay, she's broke it down to a molecular level and I respect it because that's exactly what it is. It's just potatoes. And I I love the I love the fries, but it is just potatoes. It's frozen. It's precut. You drop it in the fryer potatoes. We've all seen it, right? All right, when we go to the McDonald's restaurant, the labor, the oil, the salt, you know what all that costs McDonald's? Not $5. And what's wild is the McDonald's drive-thru traffic dropped nearly 11% in 2024.

[00:03:00]People are literally choosing not to pull up to a window anymore. The fries used to be the reason you stopped. Now it's probably the reasons you keep driving. Franchise owners set regional prices, so it varies. But when your side item costs more than the full meal used to, something has deeply went wrong here. But real quick, if you're enjoying the content, please hit subscribe button and turn on notifications. We are getting close to 11,000 subscribers.

[00:03:25]Appreciate all of your support. Now, let's get back into it. Is it just me or are fast food, fast casual places just getting so out of hand? Tell me how we just left Jersey Mike's. We got one sandwich, a giant sandwich, the biggest one they have, but double meat and two bags of chips. It was $32 for a sandwich. $32.

[00:03:52]$32 for a sandwich. I mean, it has to be a huge sandwich. Like one of those back in the day where you went to not a Subway, like a true sub sandwich where it was like a couple of feet long. And I never been to Jersey Mike's. Let me know what you guys think about Jersey Mike's.

[00:04:09]Never ate there before, but from what I know, it is not a steakhouse. There is no tablecloth. There's no person there telling you Somalier showing you wine selection. You're standing at a counter watching someone slice cold cuts. And yet, it's $32. Now, Jersey Mike's does sit in the fast casual category, which always been pricier than, let's say, for instance, McDonald's. But this is a symptom of the whole industry. Fast casual chains have raised their prices by the average of 60% between 2014 and 2024. And a 2024 London Tree survey found that 78% of American consumers now consider fast food a luxury purchase.

[00:04:48]Jersey Mike's is not no restaurant. But here in 2026, your wallet can't tell the difference anymore. I'm tired of pretending any type of food, whether it's sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, whatever, when you go out to eat, I'm tired of pretending that it's not expensive. I went to Jimmy John's last night for dinner. Me and my brother got two full sandwiches. Okay, they're full sandwiches.

[00:05:14]$47.

[00:05:16]$47 for two sandwiches.

[00:05:21]I understand Jimmy John's has been on the pricier side of sandwiches since they started.

[00:05:28]This is outrageous. I I swear this is more expensive. This is more expensive than what I got last time. $47.

[00:05:37]What are we doing? Is this Is this the economy that we uh that we were we were looking for in the 21st century? Yeah, I didn't think so.

[00:05:45]>> That is crazy. Now, Jimmy John's is another restaurant that I have not been to. It's interesting. I haven't been to any of these restaurants, the Jersey and Mike's, Jimmy John's. But $47 for two sandwiches, I probably will ever be there cuz that's ridiculously expensive.

[00:06:01]Is it that good? I mean, anyone who's in Jimmy John's or have eaten there, let me know the quality of these sandwiches.

[00:06:08]Are they life-changing sandwiches? Why are we nearly spending $50 on two sandwiches? So Jimmy John's was one of the five chains actually flagged in that finance buzz data for raising prices more than double the national inflation rate over the last decade. And the consumer response has been real.

[00:06:28]Sandwich chains saw a decline 3.25% in 2023 and the trend continued into 2024. People are not just complaining online, they're actually not showing up at all. Low-income diners have been cutting back on fast food in the double digits, said by McDonald's own CEO. This man dropped $47 on a dinner for him and his brother and single-handedly kept the sandwich industry on life support. God bless him. But why would anyone spend that much money on a sandwich? And it looks like to me like some of these chains wanted to keep their 2021 profits by jacking up the prices even beyond inflation when everyone had styi checks and people were spending like crazy. We are no longer in 2021 2022 anymore. This is a whole different economy and people are voting by not showing up to your sandwich chains anymore.

[00:07:22]>> I remember when my dad used to tell me how like the price of stuff rose up and I was like damn shut up. Like I don't care. You guys, I'm living in a world where the beefy five layer burrito used to be a dollar when I was in high school. A dollar. I just tried to order one. It was $519.

[00:07:40]I used to live in a world where that used to be 119 and 129. And I was like, damn, taxes 519. What is going on?

[00:07:50]>> Now, this one really bothers me because I used to love Taco Bell. I would order it often back in the day. For most of us, Taco Bell was always the last refuge. When everything else was expensive, Taco Bell was there. Dollar menu, value menu. We used to call it the fourth meal. When you went out drinking or hanging out, you were able to go to Taco Bell. You didn't have a lot of money and you was able to enjoy yourself. It was practically a public utility. But Taco Bell's prices have jumped 81% between the last 10 years.

[00:08:24]Between 2014 and 2024, their beefy five layer burrito alone went up 132% according to Finance Buzz data. So, she's not wrong about the math. What used to be a dollar is now around $5.

[00:08:37]That is a 336% increase over just 15 years. General inflation is only 50%. So, Taco Bell didn't just keep up with inflation, they lapped it twice. So, that's reason why I haven't been to Taco Bell in years. And I probably won't.

[00:08:54]>> Just a quick PSA to anyone in New York City that wants ice cream from Mr. Softy.

[00:09:05]I don't know.

[00:09:05]>> It wasn't Mr. Softy.

[00:09:07]>> It's not Mr. Softy. It's a knockoff Mr. Softy.

[00:09:10]>> The pink the pink truck.

[00:09:11]>> It's the pink truck. I don't know.

[00:09:13]>> Highway robbery.

[00:09:13]>> There's There's no They don't even have a good name. But we just paid $32 for two cones. Two cones. So that just puts it into perspective how expensive mandami New York is.

[00:09:31]>> Yeah.

[00:09:33]>> How expensive New York is.

[00:09:36]>> So yes, living here in New York City, it's very expensive. And looks like what's going on with the government increasing taxes, it'll just get worse and worse. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to stay here, but ice cream has become very expensive compared to how it was in the 90s and 2000s. I remember when I used to go and would buy ice cream cone. Now, the only reason I would even go to ice cream truck is because of my son. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even bother. $32 for two ice cream cones. It's ridiculous. Now, I know he said they said it was a knockoff Softy truck. There's another company that competes with Mr. Softy. I forgot what the name of it is, but I'm bet you the Mr. Softy truck is probably just as expensive now. These ice cream trucks are charging luxury hotel mini bar prices for soft serve. This what happens when inflation and New York City collide. It's like a financial nuclear reactor. But it's not just a New York problem. Food away from home prices are rising, consistently outpacing grocery prices. The ice cream cone used to be the affordable treat that anyone can afford. Now it's a financial decision you need to think about before you even pull up to the truck.

[00:10:41]>> Popeyes, I have a bone to pick with you.

[00:10:43]I'm scrolling through the Popeye's app and yes, I have the Popeye's app on my phone. Judge your mother. I clicked on the um the special offers tab and that's where all the discounts and the coupons are. These discounts are not discounting enough for me. When I click on the little discount section, I'm expecting to see a chicken tender meal for $3.99 or $4.99.

[00:11:09]Not no $25.99 for a mix and match family meal. I don't have a family to feed. I'm just doing this for me. $25% off a threepiece tenders combo for $1012.

[00:11:22]The original price was $13. I remember when this was like $7. And why are y'all offering these big quantities?

[00:11:30]Like I don't need a 14piece tender family meal and I'm not spending $25.99 on it. How do y'all have a fivepiece signature chicken for $12.99? How is five pieces of chicken feeding two people? So, one person gets three pieces and one person gets two. Maybe I'm just too fat. Too fat and too cheap. So, Popeye's used to taste good. And over the last 10 years, it's not worth paying for. I know that some people say, "Oh, that's not my Popeyes. My Popeyes over on Church Avenue. My Popeyes over here tastes great." Cool. But the last couple times I tried, the food is not worth me paying for it. It's just not. Me loving fries, the fries are okay, but the quality has declined a long time ago. So, I wouldn't even pay for Popeye's. But this man has the Popeye's app and he is still getting cooked. And it's a perfect metaphor for where we are right now. These chains know that people are price sensitive, so they dangle deals that are not really deals. A 25% discount off on an already inflated price is not a discount at all.

[00:12:36]It's theater. It's a smokeokc screen.

[00:12:38]Popeyes have raised prices by more than 75% over the last 10 years. One of the biggest jumps of any chain allies and chains notice that people are pushing back. In response, they have been rolling out these value menus and promotions. But McDonald's own data showed that their $5 meal deal only boosted their sales for about 1.3%.

[00:12:59]People are not being won back by the coupon. They have already mentally checked out and moved on.

[00:13:05]>> You understand how bad the economy has gotten? I need you to understand that 10 years ago, that's not a long time, by the way. 10 years ago at Chick-fil-A.

[00:13:14]At Chickfil-A, okay, they used to have a meal, a combo meal.

[00:13:20]I think it was like I think it was either the number one or the number three. The entire meal, the sandwich, the drink, the fries, the large. By the way, large drink, large fries, sandwich together cost $6.66.

[00:13:37]Once they realized that and they were like, "Oh, no. Jesus Jesus don't like that. We can't do that." They made it $1 more.

[00:13:46]This combo cost $667.

[00:13:54]Six $6.67.

[00:14:01]Two days ago, I attempted to go to Chick-fil-A and get that exact same meal. It was $17.

[00:14:10]>> So, this is the one right here. Now, I know a lot of people like Chick-fil-A.

[00:14:13]Chick-fil-A, in my opinion, they're all right. Nothing to spend that much money on. I mean, from $6 to $17 at the for the same meal, that's about a what 155% price increase on a combo that hasn't fundamentally changed. It's the same sandwich, same waffle fries, probably the same lemonade, the chicken didn't evolved. I hope not. The cow didn't evolve, but somehow the price more than doubled. And here's the broader picture.

[00:14:41]We've been talking about this the entire video. Fast food traffic among lowincome diners is down in the double digits. And that is from McDonald's own CEO on a 2025 earnings call. Lower income shoppers have shifted to grocery stores, dollar stores, and warehouse clubs just to eat. The industry that has built its entire identity on being affordable for working people has priced out working people. That's not a glitch. That's a policy. And you see right here, the receipts don't lie. So what are we actually watching here? You know it, I know it. This is not just people complaining on the internet. This is a documented datab collapse of the one food industry or the one food category that was supposed to be accessessible to everybody. Fast food chains have increased their prices. They've doubled the national inflation rate. And the five chains we've been talking about, the McDonald's, the Popeye's, Taco Bell, Chipotle, Jimmy John's, they have raised their prices more than double.

[00:15:42]McDonald's have raised their prices three times the rate of inflation. And the people have responded. Fast food traffic is down. People are not going.

[00:15:50]They'd rather go to the grocery store.

[00:15:51]They rather go to the dollar stores.

[00:15:53]They're cooking at home. Personally, I have taken a step back. I'm trying to cook more. I'm going to the butcher. I'm going to a grocery store. Compared to I used to eating two, three times a week, which is probably wasn't a healthy thing anyway. But when you're working multiple jobs, you have kids, you may not have time to cook because you're just so exhausted. But now you're planning out meals, you're realizing, hey, listen, this buying a fast food, the quality is not even there and it's way too expensive. So, you might as $5 meal deal is barely moving the needle. When you have 76% of Americans calling fast food a luxury, that's a problem. The thing that was invented to feed a country on a budget is now the same psychological category as a luxury purchase for nearly eight out of 10 people. The fast food industry built an empire on being affordable and being convenient. But somewhere between corporate earning calls and franchise pricing decisions. They forgot who their customer really was. And now that customer is probably going to be in the Walmart deli section buying a rotisserie chicken for about $6 to $7. That's the way it is. Let me know what you guys think about both in the comments below.

[00:16:58]Have you taken a step back on fast food or is fast food still affordable where you live? Let me know.