In June, diners ate 14% of their fast-food orders in the restaurant’s dining room, compared with 22% in 2015, Circana said. Still, fast-food restaurants are reluctant to give up on the dining room. It is often cheaper and less labor-intensive to pack food into bags to be eaten elsewhere than keep a dining room clean. At a McDonald’s location in Merrillville, Ind., recently, one worker steadily cleaned the dining room, and another employee asked the patrons sitting in the dining room if they needed anything. One customer, retiree James Lee from Merrillville, said the newly renovated dining room was nice—and took his coffee to go.

Source: Wall Street Journal August 07, 2023 11:39 UTC