McDonald's Steep Prices at a Rest Stop in Connecticut Cause Outrage Online
Someone uncovered that a McDonald's had exorbitant prices and wasn't lovin' it.
Journalist Sam Learner tweeted a photo from a McDonald's at a Darien, Connecticut rest stop, featuring very expensive Combo Meals: a Big Mac was $17.59, while a Quarter Pounder with Cheese cost even more, at $17.99. The Quarter Pounder with Cheese and Bacon and Quarter Pounder Deluxe were just at pricey at $18.99.
This was at a rest stop, but these McDonald's prices are nuts right??? pic.twitter.com/0qq8Ima3ZA
— Sam Learner (@sam_learner) July 18, 2023
Understandably, people were shocked by the extra expensive fast food.
"This cannot be right," replied Claire Bushey, a reporter for the Financial Times. Others chimed in, agreeing it had to be an error. "This has to be a mistake. Maybe the $1 was added by accident. At least I hope," read a reply. Another wrote, "Time to boycott fast-food. Hate to say it. But yea…"
When people started reacting to the incredulous prices, with one calling it "greedflation," Learner confirmed they were real, tweeting, "All I can give you is a link to order from this particular mcdonald's so that you can see/gawk at the prices for yourselves."
@jburnmurdoch has drawn attention to this and people are starting to ask questions
all I can give you is a link to order from this particular mcdonald's so that you can all see/gawk at the prices for yourselves:https://t.co/FMLdj8Pm2z— Sam Learner (@sam_learner) July 18, 2023
Everything is wildly expensive—especially the combos, including the Steak Egg Cheese Bagel Meal, which is retailing for $21.39, and the Bacon Egg Cheese Biscuit Meal, selling for $17. 39. For reference, the average Steak Egg Cheese Bagel Meal sells at an average of $11.89. The only menu items from this rest stop McDonald's that are under $5 are sides, with the cheapest being a cookie for $2.19.
After some research, Learner realized he stumped upon what appears to be the most expensive McDonald's in the country. He wrote, "Ok, I did a little digging and I think I might have stumbled into the country's most expensive McDonald's. Its $8.29 Big Mac is missing from this map, which lists $8.09 in Lee, MA as the country’s most expensive (though from a few months ago to be fair)."
Someone in the comments noted that prices tend to be higher at rest stops than normal McDonald's locations, pointing out that this location, in particular, was more expensive than other rest stops, while another comment explained that Darien is "arguably the richest town in the country."
Darien's income seems to be much higher than the median income in the United States with Point2Homes data indicating it has an average household income of $424,355 and a median household income of $250,000.
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