Extortionate cost of beefburgers

chic said:
There used to be here too Hols. If things have changed I wouldn't know cuz I'm not a fast food person.
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No I'm not usually either Chic.. and I wouldn't have known about Burger kings' big difference in price compared to McD's if I hadn't stopped that day.. . I was stunned..
 

hollydolly said:
so there's a huge difference between the prices at McD's and Burger King here...
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Probly because BK orders their beef from a ranch they don't own.

Mickey-D owns their own beef ranch. They also own a huge share in the french-fry and bun producing companies they buy from. So, they don't pay premium prices for most of the stuff that goes into making a burger.
 
Murrmurr said:
Probly because BK orders their beef from a ranch they don't own.

Mickey-D owns their own beef ranch. They also own a huge share in the french-fry and bun producing companies they buy from. So, they don't pay premium prices for most of the stuff that goes into making a burger.
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yes but you said BK & MCD's are only pennies difference in the USA.. so how does that equste with their huge price difference here... and tbh.. years ago I used to much prefer BK.. because their meat tasted like proper meat... so when I got this overpriced burger the other week.. it was vastly inferior now to Mc D's.. yet they're charging 4 or 5 times the price
 
RadishRose said:
5 Guys are OK here.
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I'm pretty sure they're doing alright here where I live as well.

You know what really struck me. Was how these big chain restaurants and stores are everywhere. I was once in the Dallas Ft Worth area staying at a hotel chain along the highway there and if you had told me I was still in the Philadelphia area, I'd have believed it. All the stores and restaurants I'm familiar with were there. Just think of all the money these places bring in from all over the country. It's mind blowing.
 
OldFeller said:
I'm pretty sure they're doing alright here where I live as well.

You know what really struck me. Was how these big chain restaurants and stores are everywhere. I was once in the Dallas Ft Worth area staying at a hotel chain along the highway there and if you had told me I was still in the Philadelphia area, I'd have believed it. All the stores and restaurants I'm familiar with were there. Just think of all the money these places bring in from all over the country. It's mind blowing.
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I know what you mean. Many years ago when I went to a mall in a different state, I was shocked to find it was the same mall
 
hollydolly said:
yes but you said BK & MCD's are only pennies difference in the USA.. so how does that equste with their huge price difference here... and tbh.. years ago I used to much prefer BK.. because their meat tasted like proper meat... so when I got this overpriced burger the other week.. it was vastly inferior now to Mc D's.. yet they're charging 4 or 5 times the price
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I don't know, but I suspect it's a way for McD's to recoup the price difference here???

Idk. I kind of of lost track here. :oops:
 
Murrmurr said:
I live very near an old Harvey's. They closed back in the early 90s, I think.

Their classic old pole sign from the 1960s was finally taken down only a few weeks ago. The paint was mostly gone and the neon didn't work, probably only because there was no electricity to it, but it was loved by locals.

I waxed nostalgic every time I drove past it.
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I was talking about the Canadian company, Harvey's who opened their first location in Toronto in 1964. Harvey's, Tim Horten's, Swiss Chalet, Montana's, Milestones, and Canadian Burger King are ALL owned in Canada by Brands International, a Brazilian corporation. Harvey's has never had locations in the USA, only in Canada. Perhaps you are recalling a US company with a similar name ? BTW, A&W Canada is a completely different company, from the US A&W company. JImB.
 
I was born in the Chicago Metro Area. The small suburb of Elmhurst was still small, but grew and became the headquarters of McDonalds, and was where the first McDonalds opened just a short ride from my suburb. My parents would often take me there. The sign said something like "Over 10,000 Sold," and I remember marveling at that many burgers.
 
caroln said:
@JustDave, I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Villa Park which was next to Elmhurst. When I was a kid and had a few coins to spare, I'd walk to our McDonald's on St. Charles Rd.
McDonald's 1960 menu:
View attachment 295744
The good ol' days!
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I think my first recollection of the place was in the very late 40s or early 1950s, but I can't possibly remember what street it was on. It was a busy street, and a lot of traffic, but not very built up back then. Thanks for that menu. I remember it being very affordable, which is why my parents took us there I'm sure.

But even before the pandemic, I remember getting fast food, and thinking for another $5, I could get a very good sit down dinner in a nice restaurant, and be waited on hand and foot. McDonalds seemed cheap, even back in the 50s, but before the pandemic it seemed not cheap at all, and getting a burger at McDonalds today has no real gratification attached to the experience for me to bother dropping that much money today.

I grew up in Berwyn.
 
jimintoronto said:
I was talking about the Canadian company, Harvey's who opened their first location in Toronto in 1964. Harvey's, Tim Horten's, Swiss Chalet, Montana's, Milestones, and Canadian Burger King are ALL owned in Canada by Brands International, a Brazilian corporation. Harvey's has never had locations in the USA, only in Canada. Perhaps you are recalling a US company with a similar name ? BTW, A&W Canada is a completely different company, from the US A&W company. JImB.
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I had no idea. Tim Hortons I knew was strictly Canadian and I knew Montana’s was strictly Canadian. The Keg is a franchise that’s Canadian owned and operated but has restaurants in the US. Harvey’s is a good franchise and I’m surprised that they are strictly Canadian. I always found their burgers far tastier than McDonald’s
 
JustDave said:
I think my first recollection of the place was in the very late 40s or early 1950s, but I can't possibly remember what street it was on. It was a busy street, and a lot of traffic, but not very built up back then. Thanks for that menu. I remember it being very affordable, which is why my parents took us there I'm sure.

But even before the pandemic, I remember getting fast food, and thinking for another $5, I could get a very good sit down dinner in a nice restaurant, and be waited on hand and foot. McDonalds seemed cheap, even back in the 50s, but before the pandemic it seemed not cheap at all, and getting a burger at McDonalds today has no real gratification attached to the experience for me to bother dropping that much money today.

I grew up in Berwyn.
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Berwyn to Elmhurst is no short trek! But when you have a taste for a McDonald's hamburger...the heart wants what the heart wants! :ROFLMAO:
 
caroln said:
@JustDave, I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Villa Park which was next to Elmhurst. When I was a kid and had a few coins to spare, I'd walk to our McDonald's on St. Charles Rd.
McDonald's 1960 menu:
View attachment 295744
The good ol' days!
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Trivia bit.......When the first McDonalds location was built "back east " the design did NOT include a furnace to heat the building. Why? No need for heat in southern California, right ? JimB.
 
About 8 years or so ago, I stopped at a Fuddruckers along I95 in Virginia. I was surprised that their cost for a "regular little burger" was three times more than other fast food burgers. I wonder what those "regular little hamburgers" are costing now with all this inflation?!
 
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PeppermintPatty said:
I had no idea. Tim Hortons I knew was strictly Canadian and I knew Montana’s was strictly Canadian. The Keg is a franchise that’s Canadian owned and operated but has restaurants in the US. Harvey’s is a good franchise and I’m surprised that they are strictly Canadian. I always found their burgers far tastier than McDonald’s
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The very first Toronto Harvey's was on Bloor street, right next to the first Swiss Chalet location which was right across from the U of T's Varsity football stadium. In 1964. Both names were originally owned by the same company, CARA FOODS, who also owned the flight kitchen for Air Canada at the Toronto airport. The Harvey's at Jane street and the 401 highway was "the Home Of the Fast Ones " the racers who had the hottest street driveable cars in the city. Saturday night it was over flowing with cars. both on and off the parking lot.

Over the years, CARA also owned and operated the following names....Red Barn, Ponderosa Steak House, Big Boy Burgers, Shake and Burger, and for a brief period, Pizza Nova. PIZZA PIZZA began in 1966, and is still the leader in Canada in terms of their national pizza business. Boston Pizza was started in B.C. by a former RCMP officer, Jim Treliving, who also owns the Western Hockey League and the TV rights to the Canadian TV program Dragon's Den. His son was recently hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team as their general manager and head coach, after a long career with another NHL team. JimB.
 
CallMeKate said:
About 8 or so years ago, I stopped at a Fuddruckers along I95 in Virginia. I was surprised that their cost for a "regular little burger" was three times more than other fast food burgers. I wonder what those "regular little hamburgers" are costing now with all this inflation?!
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Fuddruckers was another US food place that failed in Canada. Over priced, and unwilling to ADAPT to doing business in a different country. Just one example......Bringing US job application forms to Canada, where you can't ask an applicant about their personal life. Ignorance combined with arrogance. JimB.
 
jimintoronto said:
The very first Toronto Harvey's was on Bloor street, right next to the first Swiss Chalet location which was right across from the U of T's Varsity football stadium. In 1964. Both names were originally owned by the same company, CARA FOODS, who also owned the flight kitchen for Air Canada at the Toronto airport. The Harvey's at Jane street and the 401 highway was "the Home Of the Fast Ones " the racers who had the hottest street driveable cars in the city. Saturday night it was over flowing with cars. both on and off the parking lot.

Over the years, CARA also owned and operated the following names....Red Barn, Ponderosa Steak House, Big Boy Burgers, Shake and Burger, and for a brief period, Pizza Nova. PIZZA PIZZA began in 1966, and is still the leader in Canada in terms of their national pizza business. Boston Pizza was started in B.C. by a former RCMP officer, Jim Treliving, who also owns the Western Hockey League and the TV rights to the Canadian TV program Dragon's Den. His son was recently hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team as their general manager and head coach, after a long career with another NHL team. JimB.
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That must be why you often see Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet sharing the same building. That’s quite interesting.

Ponderosa Steak House was the BEST.
Their steaks were the best I’ve ever tasted, their open restaurant style, so spacious and prices exceptional. It was a place my parents liked to go. We never went to McDonald’s. It was always Swiss Chalet or Ponderosa.

I knew about Boston Pizza being owned and operated by a dragon den celebrity. He is one of the fairest dragon den competitors too. A really nice guy. I did not know about his son though. That’s quite interesting also.

Thanks for sharing that. It’s actually surprising how many businesses are owned by one mega food company.
 
caroln said:
Berwyn to Elmhurst is no short trek! But when you have a taste for a McDonald's hamburger...the heart wants what the heart wants! :ROFLMAO:
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My cousin and his parents lived in Elmhurst, so our family visited there often. In my mid to late teens, I would ride my bike from Berwyn to Elmhurst to hang with my cousin. I can't remember where he lived in Elmhust, other than he was near a large cemetery with a pond. Looking at my map guide, I'm thinking it was a 12 mile bike ride, which seemed rather long back then. My current map route uses the Express way, which was not there back then. I moved to Montana when I was 17. My cousin and his wife now live in the same house he did back then. We have lost touch over the years, but my Sister who still lives in Berwyn keeps me updated on family. My cousin has become quite private, and retreated from family. I doubt I will see him again.
 
I rarely buy a burger except when I am traveling and need a quick meal that the local greasy spoon restaurant can’t mess up too badly. Yes, even fast food has become expensive. Because of that I stick to Mac Donalds if it is available, and have learned to squeeze their rewards points for every drop of value I can get out of them. I don’t waste the points on free shakes or fries or other side dishes. I look at the menu, find a protein item (usually chicken or beef) that uses the least amount of points and order that as my freebee.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
That must be why you often see Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet sharing the same building. That’s quite interesting.

Ponderosa Steak House was the BEST.
Their steaks were the best I’ve ever tasted, their open restaurant style, so spacious and prices exceptional. It was a place my parents liked to go. We never went to McDonald’s. It was always Swiss Chalet or Ponderosa.

I knew about Boston Pizza being owned and operated by a dragon den celebrity. He is one of the fairest dragon den competitors too. A really nice guy. I did not know about his son though. That’s quite interesting also.

Thanks for sharing that. It’s actually surprising how many businesses are owned by one mega food company.
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You are most welcome. The Cappy family originated the PIZZA PIZZA company in 1967, and they still own it, as a private company. No shareholders. Their very first location was right across the street from the old Toronto Police Service HQ on Jarvis Street, in Toronto. The Cappy family had previously owned Pinecrest Speedway up in Concord. They sold the 15 acres of industrial land for 3 million dollars, and went into the pizza business, and sold off their paving business and the Pinecrest Motel, which they also owned.

Ponderosa bought their meat from suppliers in Australia, and had it shipped to Canada on refrigerated cargo ships. It was cheap, and lets say the processing to make it "tender " was not something most of their customers would have wanted to see. Mechanical tenderisers and lots of MSG powder. JimB.
 

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