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Bob & LBF in the Morning

Bob & LBF in the Morning

Bob & LBF in the Morning

McDonalds Is Going To Stop You From Doing This Soon

Author Bob Bronson
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

No more self serve fountain drinks?

This is not great news to the folks who like to pour their own fountain drinks at McDonalds. If you prefer to get your cup and fill in just the right amount of ice and then choose the drink of your choice then you should enjoy it while you can. Yes, McDonalds is going to stop you from doing this soon.

Most of us like to get our own

Yes, there’s something about the freedom of getting your own drink. I love to make an “Arnold Palmer” at Panera. I get the regular black tea and mix in just the right amount of lemonade. It’s the perfect summer time drink to quash your thirst. If you have never tried it before, trust me it will be delicious.

Some fast food restaurants already don’t allow you to pour your own drinks. Chick-Fil-A prefers to hand you the drink and if you decide you want another you have to return it to the counter person and hope that there are no ketchup or barbecue smudges on it. Boy, they must love that.

fast food restaurants in new england

Kids love to fill it up

When you were a kid, did you ever go to the soda fountain . . . and mix a bunch of flavors together to create a “suicide” . . . swamp water . . . a graveyard . . . sewage . . . a pop bomb . . . or a hurricane?  Well . . .

McDonald’s will be getting rid of their self-serve drink stations . . . and transitioning to a system where the employees will fill all cups.

You can still get a refill, but…

They aren’t taking away free refills . . . but they do think this system will cut back on theft, AND be a more hygienic option, especially in a post-Covid world.

 

But the biggest factor is:  They’re not as necessary.  Fewer people are eating inside fast food restaurants . . . and more people are ordering for pick-up through the app, or for delivery through a third-party service.  In both of those cases, employees already fill the cups . . . as they do for drive-thru orders.

Not happening just yet

McDonalds Is Going To Stop You From Doing This Soon but the change won’t happen overnight.  In fact, the shift will happen VERY slowly over the next 10 years . . . as the restaurants get updated.

Bob is a native New Englander, growing up (sorta) in Maine where his love for radio started at a young age. While in high school he hosted radio shows on a local radio station, and he has never looked back. Bob joined the US Navy and served onboard the Sixth Fleet Flagship as a radio and TV host. After serving for 3 years, it was off to Emerson College in Boston. Bob hosted shows in Boston on WMEX, WVBF and WSSH in the 80’s and 90’s before heading to radio stations in Raleigh, NC, Manchester, NH, and New York City. Bob has been married for almost 25 years to Carolyn, a Woburn gal and they have 3 daughters, Nicole, Taylor, and Bridget. Bob and Carolyn are proud first-time grandparents to baby Caroline, who they plan to spoil every chance they get! “I started my career in New England and could not be happier to come back to Boston where I can root for all the Boston sports teams and eat lots of lobster rolls and clam chowder (okay not lots)… It is an honor to host the WROR morning show with LBF and wake up the World’s Greatest City!” Bob writes about recipes and restaurants, pop culture and trending topics.

What Fast Food Chains Have the Most Locations in the US? Massachusetts?

Fast food is big, big business. Americans spent $320 BILLION in 2022. That’s sooooo many french fries to get lost between your driver seat and center console! (A treat for later?) I started thinking about the country’s obsession with fast food and wondering if Massachusetts lines up with the country as a whole when it comes to the abundance of certain fast food restaurants.

Stacker did the counting and provided the national data (updated in 2022). So what’s your guess nationally? Does McDonalds hold the key to the fast food kingdom with the most national locations? How about in Massachusetts – does Massachusetts really run mostly on Dunkin’ or did another chain edge them out for the #1 spot?

We’re basing these countdowns on one thing: number of locations. These aren’t necessarily the most popular fast food chains in the country and in Massachusetts, they just have the most locations. However, one could assume that the reason there are more locations is due to higher demand. Higher demand usually comes from higher popularity.

The first fast food restaurant in America is widely considered to be White Castle. It was founded in 1921 by Walter Anderson and Billy Ingram in Wichita, Kansas. White Castle is known for pioneering the assembly line production of hamburgers and for introducing the fast-food concept to the United States. While we don’t have any White Castle locations here in Massachusetts, they do sell their micro hamburgers at area grocery stores so if you have a hankering for the OG fast food, it’s a minute away in your microwave oven.

So let’s do this. To get the full comparison, I’ll first give you the 8 fast food restaurants with the most locations in the United States, then I’ll give you the 8 fast food chains with the most locations in Massachusetts. Get your fiery sauce ready and let’s go!

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #8

    DOMINO’S
    # of U.S. locations: 6,720
    Founded in: 1960 in Ypsilanti, MI

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #7

    BURGER KING
    # of U.S. locations: 7,257
    Founded in: 1954 in Miami, FL

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #6

    TACO BELL
    # of U.S. locations: 8,088
    Founded in: 1962 in Downey, CA

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #5

    HUNT BROTHERS PIZZA
    # of U.S. locations: 9,240
    Founded in: 1991 in Nashville, TN

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #4

    DUNKIN’
    # of U.S. locations: 9,412
    Founded in: 1950 in Quincy, MA

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #3

    McDONALDS
    # of U.S. locations: 13,515
    Founded in: 1955 in Des Plaines, IL

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #2

    STARBUCKS
    # of U.S. locations: 15,966
    Founded in: 1971 in Seattle, WA

  • Most Fast Food Locations in the USA - #1

    SUBWAY
    # of U.S. locations: 20.603 (oh my soul!!!)
    Founded in: 1965 in Bridgeport, CT

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #8

    TACO BELL
    # of U.S. locations: 75
    Founded in: 1962 in Downey, CA

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #7

    WENDY’S
    # of U.S. locations: 98
    Founded in: 1969 in Columbus, OH

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #6

    BURGER KING
    # of U.S. locations: 132
    Founded in: 1954 in Miami, FL

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #5

    DOMINO’S
    # of U.S. locations: 161
    Founded in: 1960 in Ypsilanti, MI

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #4

    STARBUCKS
    # of U.S. locations: 178
    Founded in: 1971 in Seattle, WA

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #3

    McDONALDS
    # of U.S. locations: 239
    Founded in: 1955 in Des Plaines, IL

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #2

    SUBWAY
    # of U.S. locations: 370
    Founded in: 1965 in Bridgeport, CT

  • Most Fast Food Locations in MASSACHUSETTS - #1

    DUNKIN’
    # of U.S. locations: 916
    Founded in: 1950 in Quincy, MA

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Author Bob Bronson
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