We’re not “Lovin’ It” anymore. Fast food, once a budget-friendly option, is now approaching nearly $20 for a combo meal, which is a staggering difference from earlier prices, as revealed with footage of an abandoned McDonald’s located in a remote island of Alaska, US, revealing an astounding menu dating back to the early 1990s.
Photographer Chris Luckhardt, who often documents famous abandoned places around the world, traveled to Adak Island, where he discovered an abandoned McDonald’s with a menu that hasn’t been touched since 1993.
With Americans struggling with inflation, Chris’ footage resurfaced again, quickly becoming viral on social media.
Footage of an abandoned McDonald’s located on a remote island of Alaska revealed an astounding menu dating back to the early 1990s
Image credits: Mak/Unsplash
The menu advertised “dino-size fries” for sale, potentially a tie-in to the 1993 Jurassic Park movie, as per The New York Post, and the Happy Meals contained a Bobby’s World toy, an animated series that aired from 1990 to 1998.
According to the prices listed on the old-school menu, a Big Mac was $2.45, a Big Mac meal was $4.59, a six-piece McNuggets cost $2.35, a Happy Meal cost $3.36, and an egg McMuffin was $1.95.
Chris traveled to the remote Alaskan island to explore its abandoned US military base, which, to his surprise, included a McDonald’s, he wrote in an Instagram post.
Image credits: www.youtube.com
The photographer explained that the McDonald's venue was able to exist in such a remote location because “more than 6,000 military and civilians lived on Adak during its peak in the 1980s, so an enterprising couple opened the restaurant in July 1986 with assistance from the Navy.”
With some pictures of the fast food joint going viral in 2021, the island, with its 33 permanent residents, became a social media curiosity overnight, Chris explained.
And despite looking like a list of pretty cheap price tags to most people in 2024, this McDonald’s venue was considered quite expensive due to its remote location.
Chris Luckhardt traveled to Adak Island, where he found the abandoned McDonald’s with a menu that hadn’t been touched since 1993
Image credits: www.youtube.com
“A veteran noted that he paid more than $6.00 for a 20-piece McNugget meal when the restaurant opened,” Chris wrote. “But that didn’t stop the restaurant from being packed daily, according to another veteran.”
The photographer further stated that the son of the establishment’s owner recalled that the restaurant had closed in 1993 as the Navy gradually decommissioned the base.
Chris continued: “The 1993 closing date explains the frozen-in-time but faded Jurassic Park and Bobby’s World ads on the drive-thru menu.”
Image credits: www.youtube.com
In a more recent Instagram post, Chris also mentioned that the abandoned McDonald’s dated back to 1994 instead of 1993.
Nowadays, a Big Mac meal, which includes a burger, fries, and a drink, has increased to $18 in some locations, The Post reported.
The popular fast food chain has also reported an increase in revenue directly influenced by a “strategic” hike in menu prices.
The menu advertised “dino-size fries” for sale, potentially a tie-in to the 1993 Jurassic Park movie
Image credits: www.youtube.com
David Klyman, a financial strategist at Klyman Financial, explained to HuffPost, “The price of the items sold at McDonald’s have to do with inflation but also commercial property prices, gas prices, interest rates, car prices, health insurance cost[s], flight costs since you have to fly foods around the country, and more.”
The McDonald’s corporate website released a statement that read: “McDonald’s prices vary by location.
Nowadays, a Big Mac meal, which includes a burger, fries, and a drink, has increased to $18 in some locations
Image credits: Erik Mclean/Unsplash
“Ninety percent of McDonald’s restaurants are independently owned and operated by franchisees, who have the ability to set their own prices.”
Meanwhile, experts have predicted McDonald’s and other fast food chains to follow in the steps of Wendy’s, which is planning to experiment with a new pricing model where the cost of menu items will vary depending on the level of demand, similar to the one used by the ride-hailing service Uber.
"McDonald's keeps giving everyone more reasons to avoid them," a reader commented
