A franchise of the hamburger heavyweight in St. Joseph, Missouri, is building a 6,500-square-foot restaurant that they say will be the first Golden Arches in the country to offer bottomless French fries for its customers.
Dubbed “the McDonald’s of the future,” the restaurant — one of seven owned by Chris and Karri Habiger — is slated to open in July.
In addition to serving non-stop starchy freshness, this location will include ordering kiosks in place of a row of checkouts, plus comfy armchairs “in earthy tones,” and table service. Customers will be able to create their own personalized burger, chicken sandwich, and dessert through an on-screen ordering system, selecting or declining various cheese and topping options.
“Today’s customers seek a comfortable and inviting atmosphere,” Chris Habiger told the St. Joseph News-Press. “We’re committed to providing a modern look and feel.”
Despite Habiger's announcement that the new restaurant would employ 85 people, many customers expressed concern about the kiosk ordering, taking to social forums to suggest that the new minimum wage increase had influenced the decision to remove front-line customer service and replace it with an automated system.
“Fifteen dollars an hour is driving this mechanization,” wrote one detractor.
As for the French fries news, the Twitterverse reacted in typical hyperbolic fashion, immediately cleaving into two factions: “This is enough to make me want to move to Missouri,” wrote one. “Can America get any unhealthier?” worried another.
However, despite marijuana not being legal in Missouri, one wily observer suggested an ulterior — or perhaps hopeful — motive for St. Joseph's foray into free-flowing French fries:
