A Big Change Coming to McDonald’s Restaurants Across Maine

For many who have enjoyed dining in at fast food restaurants over the years, one of the small joys is being able to pick your own beverage and maybe sneak in a refill or two before you walk out the door. According to a report from Insider, a fast food titan is ready to make that a thing of the past.

McDonald's has already begun phasing out their self-serve beverage stations at restaurants across the country. The plan is to completely eliminate the self-serve beverage stations nationwide by 2032.

McDonald's currently operates 61 restaurants across Maine in every corner of the state. The phasing out of the self-serve beverage stations will take some time, and the quickness in compliance amongst the restaurants may be left up to the franchisee.

So why eliminate something that seems so trivial? According to the FW, it's all about the experience. McDonald's is fully aware that some visitors to their restaurants take advantage of the self-serve beverage station. Some that take advantage of it aren't even customers.

It's also a matter of cleanliness. McDonald's restaurants already feature a large beverage station behind the counter to fulfill drive-thru, kiosk, and app orders. Having a second large beverage station to maintain, keep clean, and refill only adds more difficulty for the staff.

Any new or renovated McDonald's restaurants moving forward are unlikely to include self-serve beverage stations. For the dozens of operational McDonald's currently in Maine, the change is likely to roll out slowly to give both customers and staff time to adjust.