McDonald's is getting rid of one of its biggest perks.
The fast food chain is eliminating its self-serve soda machines by 2032 at its U.S. restaurants, the company said, explaining that the change will make the experience consistent for customers and crew across the chain.
For decades, McDonald's let customers fill (and refill) their own drinks at its dining rooms. However, consumer behaviour has changed since the pandemic, and the chain has experienced a surge in business through its drive-thru and delivery services, with fewer people choosing to eat in its dining rooms, reducing the need for the machines.
McDonald's future includes restaurant designs with smaller or no dining rooms (and high-tech drive thrus) to reflect that new reality. Digital sales (i.e. orders made on its app or through its partners like Uber) now make up 40 per cent of its total sales, according to its most recent earnings report.
The chain also recently teased another major change, called "CosMc's," a new small-format location that includes a reduced dining area.
"There's a number of places around the US where we are significantly underdeveloped relative to where the population exists today," CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts in June. "That opens up for us a whole bunch of development opportunities for us to go after."
In the past, ditching dining rooms was "off limits" but customer habits have changed so much since the height of the pandemic. McDonald's hasn't released further details about the "CosMc" concept.
Other chains are experimenting with reinventing their designs too, including Chipotle, Taco Bell and Starbucks.
As Hurricane Beryl rips toward the southeast Caribbean, Global Affairs Canada is warning travellers to avoid non-essential travel to Jamaica as well as several countries in the region.
Hurricane Beryl was roaring toward Jamaica on Wednesday, with islanders scrambling to make preparations after the powerful Category 4 storm earlier killed at least six people and caused significant damage in the southeast Caribbean.
Video captured from the International Space Station earlier this week shows the size of Hurricane Beryl as it churned over the Caribbean.
An Ontario man who wanted to spend time with his family in Florida was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest at the airport as he was about to fly back to Canada.
Health Canada is recalling thousands of popular heat pumps across the country due to a potential risk of 'excessive heat exposure.'
Financial advisors can be an excellent resource for busy consumers, but recent allegations against employees of major Canadian banks have raised questions about the integrity of financial advice. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew addresses some of these concerns and highlights the distinction between unethical practices and the genuine value that good advisors can offer.
The federal government says it is naming Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan as defence chief, making her the first woman to hold the Canadian Armed Forces' top job.
A Delta flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was diverted to New York's Kennedy Airport on Wednesday after passengers were served spoiled food, airline officials said.
Newlyweds from London, Ont., are trapped in Jamaica, as Category 5 Hurricane Beryl approaches.
Newlyweds from London, Ont., are trapped in Jamaica, as Category 5 Hurricane Beryl approaches.
An eastern Ontario doctor facing four charges of first-degree murder and negligence causing death in connection with the deaths of four seniors at a Hawkesbury hospital was acquitted on all charges at the Ottawa courthouse on Tuesday.
The Toronto Police Service says it will enforce a court order granted yesterday that says demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Toronto must dismantle the site by 6 p.m. today.
One of two men accused of conspiring to kill Mounties at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., characterized the protest as a last stand and told his mother there “will be a war” if police moved in.
A Montreal-area man has died after spending nine days in hospital following a serious assault in Dublin, Ireland.
A helicopter pilot has died while fighting a wildfire in the Northwest Territories.
More than 120 people died in a stampede after a religious gathering in northern India, making it one of the deadliest such accidents in recent years.
A Delta flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was diverted to New York's Kennedy Airport on Wednesday after passengers were served spoiled food, airline officials said.
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday he has 'so many skeletons in my closet,' when asked about an allegation in a Vanity Fair article that he sexually assaulted a former family babysitter.
A bill that bans child marriage in Sierra Leone has been signed into law, President Julius Maada Bio said late Tuesday, in an effort to protect girls in the West African nation where about a third are married before adulthood.
Donald Trump has kept a low profile, leaving the focus on the drama engulfing the Democratic Party as he and his campaign revel in a series of legal and political victories heading into the Republican National Convention this month
Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, an anti-settlement watchdog group said Wednesday, a move that could further worsen already soaring tensions linked to the ongoing war in Gaza.
The federal government says it is naming Lt.-Gen. Jennie Carignan as defence chief, making her the first woman to hold the Canadian Armed Forces' top job.
The co-chair of the Liberals' Ontario campaign is suggesting the party's candidate in the Toronto—St. Paul's byelection needed more time to campaign before the vote.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Washington, D.C., next week to take part in the NATO leaders' summit.
When Hannah was seven years old, she told her parents she didn’t want to be afraid of food anymore.
Eating higher levels of ultraprocessed food may shorten lifespans by more than 10 per cent, according to a new, unpublished study of over 500,000 people whom researchers followed for nearly three decades.
An Ontario man who wanted to spend time with his family in Florida was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest at the airport as he was about to fly back to Canada.
Grapes have been intertwined with the story of humanity for millennia, providing the basis for wines produced by our ancestors thousands of years ago — but that may not have been the case if dinosaurs hadn’t disappeared from the planet, according to new research.
Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.
The former Apollo 8 astronaut best known for taking the iconic 'Earthrise' photo, who died last month while piloting a plane over the waters off Washington state, was doing a flyby near a friend's house when the fatal accident occurred, federal authorities said Tuesday.
Robert Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of 'Shampoo,' 'The Last Detail' and other acclaimed films whose work on 'Chinatown' became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, has died. He was 89.
Producers of the western movie "Rust" may have to forgo a robust economic incentive as they try to sell the film to distributors and fulfill financial obligations to the immediate family of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin during rehearsal in 2021.
Jin, the oldest member of K-pop supergroup BTS, will be an Olympic torchbearer at the Paris games after recently completing his mandatory military service.
Health Canada is recalling thousands of popular heat pumps across the country due to a potential risk of 'excessive heat exposure.'
WestJet passengers faced more flight disruptions Tuesday despite a deal reached over the weekend to end a strike by its mechanics, as the airline says full resumption of operations "will take time."
Financial advisors can be an excellent resource for busy consumers, but recent allegations against employees of major Canadian banks have raised questions about the integrity of financial advice. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew addresses some of these concerns and highlights the distinction between unethical practices and the genuine value that good advisors can offer.
Barry Nussbaum, a Toronto-based family lawyer who has counselled countless couples, offers advice about the details you don't want to overlook before getting married.
Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini is said to have invented the dish on July 4, 1924, at his restaurant, Caesar's Place, in Tijuana, Mexico. It was a steamy night, and Cardini was struggling to feed an influx of Californians who had crossed the border to escape Prohibition.
Since the social media platform made its U.S. debut almost six years ago, short videos posted there have created a rapidly changing menu of food and fashion fads. Here are a few of the more ubiquitous trends the platform has spawned - or helped spread - so far:
Winger Tajon Buchanan is scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday after breaking his tibia in practice ahead of Canada's Copa America quarterfinal against Venezuela.
Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will team up in mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the tournament announced Wednesday, a pairing of the two biggest stars of British tennis.
It was a history-making day for Sudbury’s Syla Swords, who was named to Canada’s Olympic basketball team on Tuesday.
CDK Global said 'substantially all' of the nearly 15,000 car dealerships that use its software across North America are back online to its core management system, almost two weeks since a cyber incident caused a software blackout.
Transport Canada recalled various vehicles over the last week, including Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and Porsche cars.
It used to be cash was king and that you could get a better deal if you paid for a car in full, but now many dealers want you to finance your purchase so they can make more money.
A never-before-lived-in mansion in Whistler is on the market for $17.9 million – with the listing describing it as a "steal for the international buyer" due to the current exchange rate, which puts the price in U.S. dollars at $13.1 million.
A new documentary filmed in Nova Scotia by marine biologist and veterinarian Dr. Chris Harvey Clark explores the increased number of white shark observations in Canadian waters.
Irish singer Niall Horan had to ditch his car and walk to Scotiabank Arena where his concert was being held last weekend because the traffic was 'too bad' downtown.
A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.
Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
The city is entering the final stages of resuming water service through its repaired feeder main, as water consumption continues to fall below the city’s threshold level.
A grandfather and grandson duo proudly graduated alongside each other at the same northern Manitoba school.
A large basking shark was captured close to the shoreline on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore.
One B.C. family is desperate to get their daughter home after their WestJet flight from Mexico was cancelled.
A B.C. judge has ordered the sale of a Surrey home despite the objections of the woman who lives there, who owns it jointly with her son.
British Columbians should begin bracing for a stretch of hot weather starting late this week, with temperatures expected to climb up to 10 C above seasonal averages, according to a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
An Ontario man who wanted to spend time with his family in Florida was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest at the airport as he was about to fly back to Canada.
The Toronto Police Service says it will enforce a court order granted yesterday that says demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at the University of Toronto must dismantle the site by 6 p.m. today.
Police have released surveillance camera footage that shows a suspect opening fire on a Richmond Hall cinema for the fourth time in less than two months.
Calgary's mayor has given citizens the go-ahead to begin using water inside their homes as they normally would.
Parks Canada is launching a public survey aimed at guiding improvements to Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, some of the most popular destinations in Banff National Park.
The synoptic setup in southern Alberta Wednesday is similar to the one yesterday. Instability remains prevalent with embedded storms in an upper level trough likely to bring some convective activity (thunderstorms) Wednesday afternoon and evening.
Hospitals in southeastern Ontario will be receiving an award of $1 million to explore the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the burden associated with administrative work for physicians.
The Ottawa Police Service is asking the public for help in locating a missing 68-year-old man from the city’s west-end, citing concern for his well-being.
A letter carrier with Canada Post says he's been harassed repeatedly at work because he is gay and has filed official complaints but nothing has been done.
A Montreal-area man has died after spending nine days in hospital following a serious assault in Dublin, Ireland.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is slated to participate in various events in and around Montreal.
A Sturgeon County man has been charged after he allegedly shot a teen over the weekend.
Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi says it's time for the province to start paying property taxes to the city again.
Showers and thunderstorms moved through the Edmonton region overnight and parts of the area are still getting rain and the odd lightning strike this morning (specifically eastern and southern neighbourhoods).
A boil-water advisory that went into effect Monday night in Halifax has been lifted.
Police in Saint John, N.B., say they are investigating the discovery of human remains on the shore of the Saint John River.
Former Breakfast Television co-host and radio broadcaster Scott Boyd has died at the age of 68.
A Winnipeg business owner is speaking out after criminals hit her establishment three times in just over a month, including a bizarre trailer fire.
A seven-year-old girl has died after she went under the water while swimming in a northern Manitoba community.
Canada’s $10-a-day childcare program has created a financial crisis for a Regina daycare. The Scott Infant and Toddler Centre is burning through its cash reserves in order to remain open.
The Regina Police Service (RPS) has revealed that an investigation into a death over the weekend is now being considered a homicide.
A Sask. man who escaped RCMP custody in Dinsmore, Sask. has been found dead.
One person has been charged with assaulting a police officer after chaos broke out in a Kitchener, Ont. park on Canada Day.
The Port Dover lift bridge has reopened following a two-vehicle collision Wednesday morning.
Guelph police are investigating another makeup and beauty product theft in the city.
A Sask. man who escaped RCMP custody in Dinsmore, Sask. has been found dead.
Canada’s $10-a-day childcare program has created a financial crisis for a Regina daycare. The Scott Infant and Toddler Centre is burning through its cash reserves in order to remain open.
After successive summers of drought and smoke from forest fires across many parts of Saskatchewan in recent years, those longing for rain got plenty of it last month.
The owner of Thornloe Cheese announced Wednesday it has a tentative agreement in place to sell the northern Ontario cheesemaker to Mississauga-based Triple ‘A’ Cheese.
An Ontario man who wanted to spend time with his family in Florida was hospitalized after suffering a cardiac arrest at the airport as he was about to fly back to Canada.
The North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit has declared a local whooping cough outbreak affecting residents across the region.
Police in St. Thomas are investigating a death. Police and fire officials are on scene in the area of Hiawatha and Curtis Street.
Police in Huron County are overseeing a death investigation. Around 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, emergency services responded to an address on Cut Line Road between Parr Line and Tipperary Line in Central Huron.
Newlyweds from London, Ont., are trapped in Jamaica, as Category 5 Hurricane Beryl approaches.
Unanimous board approval has given Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare the green light to continue with the planning stages of redevelopment of its hospital sites.
Barrie's GO train service will be on hold this weekend during track repairs.
A single-vehicle rollover in Adjala Tororontio has police asking for video of the crash.
A workplace injury has resulted in a $55,000 fine for a Windsor manufacturer.
Windsor-Essex home sales have dropped for a fourth straight month, according to the Windsor-Essex County Association of Realtors.
Arson is being listed as the cause of a fire at an apartment on Ouellette Avenue. Crews were called to the 900 block of Ouellette around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.
British Columbians should begin bracing for a stretch of hot weather starting late this week, with temperatures expected to climb up to 10 C above seasonal averages, according to a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
Authorities broke up an altercation involving "numerous" golfers at a course in B.C.'s Lower Mainland over the weekend – an incident that was apparently prompted by serious breaches in etiquette.
A swath of B.C.’s southern Interior is being told to brace for potential severe thunderstorms Tuesday.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect Sunday for a swath of the B.C. Interior, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Mounties in Kelowna say a suspect is at large after a man was stabbed in the city Sunday afternoon.
One of two men accused of conspiring to kill Mounties at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., characterized the protest as a last stand and told his mother there “will be a war” if police moved in.
With the recent moisture and cooler temperatures, fire bans and restrictions in the Lethbridge area are no longer in effect.
Plenty of tourists will descend on Lethbridge to see what the city offers. Locals, too, will have no shortage of activities this weekend.
A 37-year-old has been charged after a security guard in Sault Ste. Marie was attacked by a shoplifting suspect June 30.
A group of Elliot Lake seniors and homeowners who have been fighting the Canadian government and by extension the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the last three years over the radioactive backfill used under their homes will be getting their day in court on Wednesday.
A researcher from the Netherlands is looking to identify the families of a couple of dozen Indigenous heroes who gave their lives while fighting for freedom in World War II. It’s all part of a larger remembrance project she’s working on.
The union representing inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision to reopen the commercial Northern cod fishery.
As part of the emotional ceremony honouring Newfoundland and Labrador's Unknown Soldier, the province's national anthem, The Ode to Newfoundland, was sung. Military members received special permission from defence officials to salute the Ode.
The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.
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