McDonald's Is Getting Rid of Its Dollar Menu

Heads up, thrifty drive-thru junkies: McDonald's is revamping its Dollar Menu. Come January, the fast food behemoth will replace it with a new "McPick 2" menu, reports the Associated Press. Customers will be able to get two items for a total of $2: the McDouble, the McChicken, small fries, or the chain's newest and cheesiest reveal, mozzarella sticks.

Nation's Restaurant News says the promotion will initially run January 4 to February 8, "after which local markets will be able to extend the promotion." Franchisees have been enthusiastic about the new offering thus far, voting to adopt it company-wide.

The chain has been trying to oust the Dollar Menu for years: The AP notes "McDonald's rolled out an 'Extra Value Menu' that offered items for a range of prices" in 2012, and when that failed to captivate consumers, it introduced the current 'Dollar Menu & More', which — somewhat confusingly — offers items priced at not just $1, but also $1.39, $1.69, $2.49, and even $5. (The McPick 2 menu, while still offering items for just a buck, requires customers to purchase two at a time for the special pricing.)

The company's VP of customer experience, Erik Hess, tells NRN this will not be a simple limited-time offer, but rather a way of initiating "a strong value platform" for McDonald's in 2016. "It’s another brick in the wall of our turnaround," Hess is quoted as saying. The chain has just begun to emerge from a years-long sales slump, reporting a sales increase last quarter for the first time since 2012. The company is clearly hoping that the promise of $2 mozzarella stick and McChicken meals— along with new digital menu boards that tailor meal suggestions based on the weather outside — will continue to drive sales heading into 2016.