Ex-McDonald’s chef reveals why the $5 Meal Deal won’t work — and why the dollar menu will likely never come back

McDonald’s has gone all in on the meal deal wars — but a former corporate chef from the Golden Arches doesn’t think it will bring back customers.

Mike Haracz, who worked at McD’s until 2019, shared on TikTok that the $5 value meal won’t turn a profit for the company.

The $5 Meal Deal includes a McChicken or McDouble, a four-piece Chicken McNuggets, small french fries and a small soft drink. It was supposed to last just four weeks after first being introduced this summer, but the fast-food chain has extended it in the hopes of luring in customers.

Haracz admitted that McDonald’s “will always and will only do things that are operationally easy for them to do.”

Because of this, Haracz said they won’t bring back the dollar menu — which a lot of customers have hoped for.

He noted that inflation and other factors contribute to why things can’t just be a dollar.

“But even though that’s what folks want, McDonald’s is in the position to try to optimize things in the restaurant,” he shared. “They would rather do buy one a little more premium item, get another one for a dollar, or the $5 dollar bundle meals.”

Haracz is referring to McDonald’s recent announcement that in addition to the $5 Meal Deal, they will launch a “buy one add one” option, according to CNBC.

The new McValue option will allow customers to add on an extra item to any purchase for $1 – including a double cheeseburger, McChicken sandwich, six-piece nuggets and small fry, or breakfast menu items such as a Sausage McMuffin, sausage biscuit or sausage burrito and a hash brown.

“More people that would come in and order the one dollar thing would just make the drive-through lines extra long and they want to increase the average check of people ordering food,” he said.

“I don’t think that this is gonna bring people back because this is not what the people have been asking for.”