I'm going to let the Globe decide where to eat today:
"McDonald’s walk-up window to offer 24-hour service" by Taryn Luna | Globe Correspondent, December 19, 2013
Think of it as a drive-through for people on foot.
A newly renovated McDonald’s in Cambridge’s Central Square is getting ready to introduce a walk-up window where pedestrians can order and pick up food without going inside the restaurant. The walk-up window is a familiar McDonald’s concept in some other cites, including New York and Chicago, but it’s new to Massachusetts.
The window won’t just let lazy Cambridge customers skip the extra 25 feet to the interior counter. McDonald’s Corp. hopes to keep it open after the lobby closes at 11 p.m., so customers can get their fix of Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets 24 hours a day.
The owners of the Central Square McDonald’s held a grand reopening of the restaurant on Wednesday but were still awaiting a city permit for the walk-up, which they hope will arrive soon.
The company said the window will appeal to “younger millennials who are enjoying the nightlife in Cambridge,” as well as to people who work nights.
“It allows them to have a convenient place to stop when the bar closes,” said Nicole DiNoia, a McDonald’s spokeswoman.
At least you will know what you puked up the next day.
I love basing a business on a drunk clientele, don't you? Drunk customers are the greatest!
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Analysts say walk-up windows are a good way to increase business in an industry where overall revenues have been flat.
Revenues flat? During this five-year recovery that is gaining momentum?
“The fast-food industry is barely holding steady,” said Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant analyst at NPD Group....
Farhana Khan, a 24-year-old Harvard Extension School student, said she likes the idea of ordering food from the sidewalk.
“I would definitely use it if I was on my way to class in a rush,” Khan said as she munched on Chicken McNuggets at the Central Square McDonald’s earlier this week.
Related: What's in that chicken nugget?
You don't want to know.
Others weren’t convinced.
“Look outside,” said D.J. Pearcy, 17, as Tuesday’s snowstorm began to rev up. “I don’t want to be sitting out there waiting for my food.”
Carol Chin, who owns the Cambridge restaurant and nine other McDonald’s in the Boston area, said that waiting for food at McDonald’s will eventually be a thing of the past.
This month, the company introduced McApp, a smartphone app that provides store locations and coupon offers, in New England. Within a year, the company hopes customers will be able to order ahead and pay for food on their phones and then swing by a McDonald’s window or counter to pick up their meals.
“It’s our McDonald’s of the future,” Chin said of her Central Square restaurant. “If you want to get a burger at 2 a.m., this is your answer.”
Then it's time to take the train home. I hope the swaying doesn't make you sick to your stomach.
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$hit food from a $hit pre$$! I'm luvin' it!
