McDonald’s Banning Refills in Hudson Valley

What's going on? Are we drinking way too much soda at the local Mickey D's?

McDonald's is the world's largest fast food restaurant chain, serving over 69 million customers daily in over 100 countries. McDonald's is best known for its hamburgers, cheeseburgers and French fries of course, and how bout those fountain sodas?

According to the New York Post, it looks like McDonald's will be phasing out free drink refills, and more fast food chains may follow.

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A company rep reportedly stated that charging for refills would be left “at the discretion of individual restaurant owner/operators.” But free refills have been a common thing with the fast food chain for years, and with the ridiculous rise in prices these days everywhere (in New York especially) including at McDonald's, not offering free refills is upsetting to many loyal customers.

I remember when a Big Mac Meal (Big Mac, Fries and Soda) was like 6 bucks back in the day. I'll never forget my good friend Joe Mason's mom buying Big Mac meals for the entire family one night for dinner. I'll always remembering seeing the register read like $70! I had never seen a bill at McDonald's for food that large, and this was back in the early 1990's.

I don't eat much of any fast food these days if I can help it, but I must say that I was shocked when I walked into a McDonald's in Poughkeepsie recently and looked up at the menu. The price for the Big Mac Meal was like $12!? Double of what I knew it had previously cost. I could only imagine Mrs. Mason buying McDonald's for the whole family again in 2024. That bill would be like 150 dollars!

No More Refills

But back to the refills....Its been said that self-serve soda machines have been vanishing all over, from McDonald's to Panera Bread, to the grocery store Wegmans. One article reporting on McDonald's Banning Refills in New York State, says that a man just over the state border in Pennsylvania was denied a refill and he actually thought it was a joke. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The refill ban looks to be heading not only to just the Hudson Valley area, but New York overall, and beyond.

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“McDonald’s tends to be a leader in the industry. And very often, when they make big changes, other restaurants follow suit. McDonald’s is very smart about their costs,” said Darren Tristano, CEO of consulting firm FoodserviceResults. So don't be surprised if at your next trip to the local McDonald's, or another fast food joint for that matter, you are told to reach into your pockets and purchase another drink.