McDonald's plans to transition away from self-serve beverage stations in US by 2032

Just like a discontinued item, self-serving soda machines inside McDonald's restaurants won't exist 10 years from now.

The slow transition away from beverage stations in dining rooms across the country will be completed by 2032, McDonald's announced. Customers will be required to ask for refills at the counter.

"This change is intended to create a consistent experience for both customers and crew across all ordering points, whether that's McDelivery, the app, kiosk, drive-thru or in-restaurant," the company said in a statement to USA TODAY.

The fast-food chain did not clarify whether financial or health factors impacted the decision.

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Several franchises in Illinois have already made the shift, according to USA TODAY network affiliate State Journal-Register. Store owner-operators said food safety, theft prevention and a lack of dine-in customers impacted the decision.

“It’s an evolution towards convenience and (the result of) the growth of digital service,” said Mikel Petro, who operates 15 McDonald’s throughout central Illinois with his wife and in-laws.

Brad Davis, who owns multiple McDonald's in Springfield, Illinois, said one of his restaurants was selected to be part of the new "crew pour" system, where workers refill customer drinks for them, according to the State Journal-Register. He told the outlet that while the experience was an adjustment for customers and staff, complaints are minimal.

Self-serve soda machines have also been recently removed west including in Orange, California, according to Insider.

McDonald's is one of many fast-food restaurants seeing less consumers dining inside restaurants, more ordering for takeout digitally since the start of the pandemic. Yum! Brands Inc., the company which owns chains like Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, has teased a potential shift to solely digital sales.

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