McDonald's Might Get Rid Of The Dollar Menu

McDonald’s has never been a company to sit around and simply let the money roll in. The fast food chain known for its breakfast menu, burgers, and french fries is constantly trying out new menu items, specialty dishes and sometimes even restaurant ideas (remember the McDonald’s Diner?), but thanks to inflation and the rising costs of food, an old standby for many Golden Arches customers may be changing and soon. That’s right, McDonald’s is currently doing testing to get rid of its Dollar Menu.

The Dollar Menu feels as if it has been around forever; however, that’s not actually the case. The idea was introduced just over a decade ago in 2002, and its items have changed over the years, although some staples including hashbrowns, McChicken sandwiches and even side salads have remained. The menu currently features 13 items all available to buyers for a dollar, but the company would like to change costs for most of the items that are currently available for super cheap.

The new menu would be called the Dollar Menu and More and would feature items up to $5. There are several tiers that McDonald’s is attempting to roll out. According to the Washington Post, one version of the Dollar Menu and More would offer items at costs of $1, $2, and $5 while the other version the company is looking into offers items at $1, $1.79, and $4.99.

Since most items on McDonald’s menu that are not full meals cost under the $5 mark, the need for the new menu is a little confusing. Apparently, the $5 items on the Dollar Menu and More would be items that were meant to be shareable between multiple people, including the 20-piece chicken nuggets. Since that item is already part of the Extra Value Menu, the whole thing seems a bit redundant. However, a bit more sleuthing says that McDonald’s has plans to retire the Extra Value Menu, as well. The Post is also reporting that McDonald’s chief marketing officer Neil Golden recently said the Extra Value Menu hasn’t fared all that well because the company didn’t “deliver on simplicity and clarity.”

So now the company’s big plan is to create a hybrid of the original Dollar Menu and the Extra Value Menu that still has Dollar Menu in the title, hoping to trick people into thinking things are as cheap as they once were. It might work, but it’s still complicated, and not remotely catchy. I’m sure the Dollar Menu and More will go through several revamps before McDonald’s settles on something that sells burgers and is marketable.

McDonald’s isn’t the only fast food chain reworking its lower end menus. Earlier this year, Wendy’s also got rid of its 99-cent menu in favor of items with slightly higher prices. For customers, it's annoying, but I suppose it had to happen at some point. After all, most vending machines don't even offer sodas for a buck anymore.