I was eating at McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and other delicious, unhealthy, but mainly super convenient fast food chains because I was thirsty, hungry, and lazy. Some weekends, I can have up to 7 bubble shows, and if I don’t pack a lunch, my overall enthusiasm dips and that’s not good for business. I didn’t like the overall quality of food I was eating, the amount, the cost, and feeling like I was at the mercy of the next drive-thru. My solution: stop going to any type of chain coffee shop or restaurant. No Time Hortons. No McDonald’s. No Arby’s. No Keg. Nothing. If it were a chain, I would avoid it. Did I fully think this through? Of course not.
First question is: So, what exactly is a chain? Is more than one location a chain? What if there are three? What if there is one in Ottawa and one in New Brunswick? These questions kept me up at night. My overall strategy was if there were more than 5 locations, it was a chain. Most successful food establishments have more than one location. You can also visit a store, and it gives up chain vibes, which is not what I was looking for. Another reason for this challenge was that since I run a small, local business, it might make sense for me to support local, since I hope parents choose me over a Michael’s birthday party (yeah, they do birthday parties; actually sounds kinda fun…)
How annoying/challenging was this? I would say it wasn’t too bad, but once summer hits and everyone is eating Dairy Queen and having dollar drinks, I was about ready to snap. Occasionally, clients will ask me if I want a slice of pizza or a cup of coffee from their catering from Starbucks. Here is how that conversation would go:
Client: Would you like a slice of pizza before you go? We have lots.
Me: (starving and dying of thirst) Umm, where did you get it from? I’m doing this thing where I can’t eat food from a chain restaurant.
Client: (while looking at me like there is clearly something wrong) Ahhh, it’s from Pizza Pizza.
Me: Oh, ok. Thanks anyway.
Then awkwardly walk away. Not exactly leaving on a high note.
Do you know what is convenient? Drive-thrus. It’s amazing. You don’t need to leave your car. It was a brilliant idea, but I noticed that there aren’t any healthy food stores offering a drive-thru. You cant drive up to a Freshii and get a Buddha Satay Bowl.
Did I feel healthier after this year of no chains? I can’t say that I did.
Did I save money? I suppose I did, but that money doesn’t appear to have bought me a car that can get me up my driveway, so maybe wasn’t that helpful.
What lessons did you learn? Tons of food options aren’t chain restaurants. They do cost more and take more time, and aren’t usually located on main roads, but if you want a more local experience, maybe do a month of no chains because only a sick person would do this for a year.
What was your first meal back? I believe it was a couple of McDoubles and a junior chicken from McDonald’s.
How was it? Delicious.
How long did you wait until having it? Well, I didn’t plan this out well enough, but Caitlin and I were downtown after midnight on January 1st and we walked to a Wendy’s I saw on Google Maps. Turns out, it wasn’t a real location, so once we got there we couldn’t get food, so it was a rough start to 2025.
What did you miss the most, other than convenience? The occasional McDonald’s ice cream, Wendy’s lemonade, and any free food I couldn’t eat after a show.
Have you slowed down your overall drive-thru intake? I might have overdone it the first 3 months back, but things have calmed down a little bit, and now I am struggling with my 2025 challenge.
What challenge is that? No new books and no news.
How is that going? Not well!
"One of the many downsides of our fast food culture is that food is no longer a revered cultural icon. This is probably one of the most detrimental aspects of our diet: the myriad of fast food restaurants are cultural icons and Sunday dinner with the family is not." J. Natalie Winch. Ditching the Drive-Thru.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.