McDonald's diners moving to fancier options

Chicago

MIKE Hiner used to take his grandsons to McDonald's when they wanted a treat. With higher wage and food costs pushing up prices at the Golden Arches, he's increasingly taking them to IHOP, Denny's and Chili's instead.

"Those meals are the same price," said Mr Hiner, a 58-year-old geologist in Houston. "And they're better." The loss of bargain-seeking customers like Mr Hiner underscores a growing challenge for McDonald's Corp: While the company still offers several items for US$1, its menu is quietly getting more expensive. McDonald's said its prices were up about 3 per cent through the end of June compared with 12 months earlier. That's more than the 2.5 per cent gain in prices for food Americans purchased away from their homes in the year through August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.