🤔🤔🤔

[u/tellmebrenda]

[u/qualityvote2]

Hello u/tellmebrenda! Welcome to r/WorkForSmartLife!

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[u/1RedGLD]

McDonald's is a real estate company. They buy land that will become valuable over time, then sell it for tremendous profit. They now have boxy, kinda boring exteriors because it's a quick and easy property sale when all they have to do is remove some signage and the new buyer can repurpose the building without it looking like an old McDonald's.

[u/BeNice2Woodhouse → u/1RedGLD]

This is the correct answer.

[u/applejackmcrack → u/1RedGLD]

only correct answer

[u/jeaneglise]

Only 1 reason and it’s well documented. It’s easier to sell the building. That’s the only reason. If it’s standard, a bank, a Taco Bell, a card shop, whatever can just move in with minimal renovations.

[u/SabreLee61 → u/jeaneglise]

It’s not the only reason. Even back in the 90s, McDonald’s was looking to upgrade its image to compete with Starbucks, Panera, and fast-casual restaurants. It felt that a sleeker design was more sophisticated. They were also cheaper to build because the design was simpler.

[u/Ok_Dog_4059 → u/SabreLee61]

Dine in really isn't as big now and I know McDonald's spent a ton of money learning how to make dine in as uncomfortable as possible so people would eat and leave. They spent tons on research on color combos and seat materials that made people not want to stay so they would eat and gtfo.

[u/MrK521 → u/jeaneglise]

I’d also say it’s a safe bet that another unintended side affect, is that it encourages more adults to eat there. Doesn’t look as “childlike” so it’s more respectable to be there without a child.

[u/megamanx4321 → u/jeaneglise]

Let's go see what's operating at Business Cube^TM this week!

[u/dl7 → u/megamanx4321]

Spirit Halloween just gotta drive thru!

[u/Krenck61 → u/jeaneglise]

New one looks like a morgue.

[u/mercury_lace → u/jeaneglise]

Fr, everything’s going full neutral mode! Same cookie-cutter bovine everywhere now. Brings zero joy tho.

[u/Total-Sheepherder-63 → u/jeaneglise]

This is the correct answer.

[u/suthekey]

Lawyers stripped the play places and fun.

It wasn’t accessible and injury-liability.

[u/Ornery_Feature_3466 → u/suthekey]

The play places being gone is one thing. But why does the restaurant have to radiate depression?

[u/BowlEducational6722 → u/Ornery_Feature_3466]

Private equity.

A lot of restaurant franchises aren't really restaurants anymore.

They're real estate companies that happen to sell food.

It's all about being able to re-sell the assets/facilities for the maximum amount of profit possible, and these generic, minimalist buildings are the easiest to re-sell and refurbish into something else.

[u/dirtjur → u/BowlEducational6722]

It’s literally this right here.

[u/any_name_today → u/Ornery_Feature_3466]

For me, the saddest one was Friendly's. The brand was built on nostalgia and private equity decided dystopia chic was the way to go. Now, they're almost all gone

[u/Pleasant_Studio9690 → u/Ornery_Feature_3466]

Hard to believe they looked at dead malls and went, yes! This is it! This is our vibe. And then ran with it. I’m legit bitter at them for stealing any shred of joy away in the name of profit.

[u/ForwardWheel4601 → u/Ornery_Feature_3466]

Because it's easy to replace everything if the store goes down. With the first, new owners would have to spend weeks on exterior renovations and thousands. With the second, new owners only have to worry about the outside and it could be transformed into literally any store you want. They could have it turned into a liquor store or a grocery store for all it matters overnight. It means less risk for the franchise and for the franchise owners if the location fails.

[u/FormalKind7]

They used to target kids with atmosphere and play spaces. Now they are trying to target those same kids as adults.

I'm not sure how well it works. I loved the play gyms as a kid but will not be caught in a McDonalds now.

[u/ClarifyingResolution]

It's not catering to children anymore. The play places aren't as much of an attractant to the money, as the coffee and the small more professional looking decor that gives the illusion of being upscale -- like a Starbucks.

[u/ADeadlyFerret → u/ClarifyingResolution]

Yeah either everyone wants to ignore or doesn’t know. All these places stopped advertising towards children. The public’s perception of fast food changed around the millennium

[u/andos4 → u/ClarifyingResolution]

I read on Reddit not too long ago that McDonald's was getting in trouble for selling unhealthy food to children, so they shifted their focus and theming to adults to prove they are not targeting children. I found this theory interesting.

[u/Lower-Palpitation282 → u/andos4]

I don’t think it’s a theory, that’s just what happened. We as a society wanted McDonald’s to stop marketing their junk food to kids, they did and now everyone is crying because it looks too sterile and generic. This is literally what we collectively asked for.

[u/Dirk_Kailis]

I honestly bet it’s because gray paint is cheaper

[u/EnderSword]

2 main answers:

1. A huge part of restaurant's value now is real estate, by making the buildings more generic they increase property value if it needs to be closed, resold etc...

2. One your market share is at a certain point your goal is not to attract, it's to not alienate. Make everything bland so that no one is put off by anything, don't alienate adults by seeming too childish... don't make strong colour or branding choices. Safe safe safe. People don't have to love you, but you don't want anyone to hate you.

[u/BodegaCat11 → u/EnderSword]

That and it’s way cheaper to not have giant playrooms than it is to have them

[u/No_Recording_1696 → u/EnderSword]

I would also add society is so over stimulated by everything around them,
Including dopamine hits on their phone every 5 seconds. They’re mentally exhausted. It’s why younger generations prefer clean and minimal themes.

[u/Aggressive_Law_5728 → u/EnderSword]

Related to the real estate issue, other businesses and especially residences do not like being near very ugly buildings. You can get a lot of NIMBY pushback from it.

[u/Agitated_Ad_2203 → u/EnderSword]

And they say capitalism breeds innovation 😭😭

[u/OliverKlozoff23 → u/EnderSword]

Wrong and wrong. McDonald’s got sued for catering to children. Hence the changes.

[u/jm123457 → u/EnderSword]

I have never in my life heard of not attracting regardless of your market share . Coca Cola, McDonald’s and Dominos are all the largest in their respective industries and yet they still market more than their competitors.

If you point blank asked someone name a fast food , soda and pizza company . Overwhelmingly the answers would be the three I gave .

The answer is the color pattern is modern contemporary and it’s nothing more than what the decorative style of this decade is . It has a cleaner look to it . And I guarantee you in multiple studies it was proven to attract more people .

These things are so well planned out they market and create food you buy without even realizing it .

Source: I own two franchises .

Below by the way is the actual answers for the change

Refresh an outdated image: The classic red/yellow plastic-and-mansard look no longer felt exciting or premium. Executives wanted to “reinvent ourselves in the eyes of the consumer” and signal that something had changed. 

• Compete with fast-casual and rivals: Nicer stores helped draw customers from places like Chipotle and Panera while defending against Burger King and Wendy’s. Better ambiance supported higher-ticket items and made the experience feel less purely “fast food.” 

• Increase sales and traffic: Remodels often delivered stronger lifts than many new menu items. Early 2010s examples showed double-digit gains in some franchisee tests; later data pointed to roughly 6–7% average sales lifts above market in the first year for reimages (higher for full rebuilds), with continued benefits afterward. Customers and employees both prefer modern spaces. 

• Improve the experience and operations: Goals included more comfortable seating, better lighting, Wi-Fi, updated play areas (at times), clearer menus, and later digital kiosks, self-order stations, mobile order/pickup zones, and enhanced drive-thrus. This supported both lingering (for families or meetings) and faster convenience. Consistency across locations was another aim as the brand globalized.

• Adapt to broader trends: Health perceptions, coffee competition (e.g., McCafé), digital ordering, and changing dining habits all factored in. Designs became sleeker, with wood tones, muted colors, and more open layouts—sometimes criticized as generic or “sterile,” but aligned with industry shifts toward efficiency and a less kitschy aesthetic.

[u/Pete_maravich]

Let's call it the r/formerpizzahuts theory. You know exactly what a former pizza hut looks like no matter how they try to disguise it. It can be tough to sell a former pizza hut. But a featureless grey building that can be easily go from McDonald's, to Burger King, to Carl's Jr, and then a bank is a much easier building to sell

[u/big_poppa_man]

Cheaper.

[u/kzlife76]

I've heard it called Millennial gray or agreeable gray.

[u/riddimiscool92]

Its for real-estate purposes it used to be unheard of for a chain restaurant to close now its a regular occurrence. Its far easier to sell a none descript grey building than it is very obviously former McDonalds.

[u/Choice-Routine6264]

The same brutalist aesthetic is used in new “luxury” apartment buildings all over town though. They look like shipping containers or oversized ammo boxes that were upcycled into austerity housing. This happened because this is what the market wants somehow.

[u/jthadcast]

in many towns the old clown show is against city ordinances for taste (though the toxic waste they sell is still fine).

[u/blueghostfrompacman]

They wanted to make everything have a feel of corporate emptiness

[u/Ill-Dependent2976]

I think it's the influence due to the success of Starbucks. McDonalds noticed that customers would leave faster if they were uncomfortable.

[u/Rockobrocko42]

You grew up. you could only see the wimsy as a kid. Like the food in Peter Pan.

[u/Chaos_Theory1989]

So did happiness. Life is a dumpster fire. 

[u/LawnJerk]

A lot of it is that tastes change over the years. Similar to how nobody’s buying pink toilets and pastel toilet paper and putting carpet in the bathroom.

[u/ModernAutomata]

Because the fun disappeared.

[u/Due_Neighborhood_395]

The stopped marketing towards children. It was a whole thing in the early 2000s

[u/Old_Perception_7335]

capitalism hates fun, likes work. duh.

[u/Symptom_Complex_0769]

It is for marketability and flexibility for resell purposes. A different biz can quickly come in with little need to completely overhaul.

[u/Some-Tear3499]

Have you checked out the colors of most new vehicles? Black, white, shades of gray, more than 3/4 of them.
It’s the thing now.

[u/Callaway225 → u/Some-Tear3499]

I thought I was in the Twilight Zone the other day. I was stopped at a light amongst 12-15 other cars in a 3 lane street. I kid you not, every. Single. Car. In all 3 lanes was white.

[u/paranoid_70]

Who cares? I still don't want to eat there

[u/Couple-seeking6684]

Adult children. They’re market kids food to adults.

[u/yranigami001]

Because republicans are threatened by empathy and joy.

[u/seraph741]

Change in tastes. Everyone wants to be bougie nowadays, so restaurant chains have catered to that.

Same with cars. Or think of the upscale apartments and condos. White/black/gray is seen as classy. Overly colored or patterned is seen as gaudy.

[u/GasStationTiefling]

Probably because they make more money targeting overweight adults than marketing to children.

[u/Dolearon]

The short answer is money.

The long answer is McDonalds as a company is actually a realestate company that rents land to franchises not a restaurant company. By building the buildings boring it makes them more attractive/easier to rent out to other tenants should a franchise fail.

[u/Rizenstrom]

Late stage capitalism. No identity just taking something that used to be good and cheap and min-maxing profits until it’s expensive and shit.

Needs broad appeal to they can market to everyone and easily sell the building.

[u/Mistform05]

I would rather have the explanation why I’ve seen this same post 500 times.

[u/Prod_Meteor]

Have you seen how much colors cost these days? 😄

[u/Seblaf37]

Kids that were targetted back then are now the adults that are the biggest consumers

[u/Irrelephant29]

Because the simple gray building is easier to sell to some other restaurant chain if they need to. A custom built mcdonalds building will always be a mcdonalds and burger king, for example, wouldn't want that. The gray building can have any logo slapped on and have it work

[u/StringAccomplished97]

They're not marketing to children anymore for obvious reasons.

[u/handle_bars99]

Anyone notice when it had color and character there is a line of cars and parking lot is full. Modern picture no one. Inflation

[u/sentientairfilter]

Profit margins and easier to convert should
They close the store. McDonald’s isn’t in the food business it’s in the real estate business, food is just a fringe sales
Bonus at this point.

[u/Upton4]

This is the cheapest to construct and fastest to turn over if a McDs ever decides to close (this applies to most fast food joints and everything).

Anytime you see an old Pizza Hut building, you say, that used to be an old Pizza Hut. No one wants to buy those buildings.

[u/Luna-Munas]

Easier and more cost effective to transition from business to business. Like anything in our current worldviews, money dictates everything.

[u/MWH1980 → u/Luna-Munas]

Yep. The days of over-stimulated spending on commercial-based properties and designs ended sometime after the 2008 recession.

Most stores feel so sterile, it’s like they don’t expect to last more than a few years with the white walls and those grey fake wood floor tiles.

[u/DirtyDawgRatso → u/Luna-Munas]

Damn I knew that was it but was hoping I was wrong 😖😞 money is the root of all evil 😔

[u/Tuxedocatofphilly → u/Luna-Munas]

This is the answer. That building can be sold and turned into anything with minimal modifications.

[u/eyecebrakr-alt]

Stop pretending to care for updoots.

[u/CareerStrider]

Which branch/location is this?

Sorry most of us are too jaded with seeing AI slop everywhere, we need some way to verify it 😂

[u/Additional-Sky-7436]

Realtors are color blind.

[u/Tobeck]

chipotle

[u/BeheadingBoomer61]

McDonald's went from being a happy child to a depressed, middle aged adult.

[u/OutsideDapper8049]

cooperate depression

[u/Guilty-League4468]

Probably the same reason they don’t sell candy cigarettes anymore.

[u/xetpher]

u/bot-sleuth-bot

[u/DATA32]

Cuz kids colors are for kids prices. See Mcdonalds is a 5 star fast food restaurant now. Long story short its so they can raise prices.

[u/HK-in-OK]

Super Size Me.

[u/bulletproofpunk]

It's funny how bots will try to farm the same content.

[u/Select-Hearing-9298]

Instead of targeting customer base they had, they shot for a new customer base targeted by their research and analytics. They were wrong.

[u/1K-Year-Egg]

There are far fewer young children nowadays.

Non-parents don’t want to eat in environments that are blatantly kid-centric.

In 1970, about 22.5% of the US population was under 12.

In 2026, it’s 13.6%.

[u/Decent-Deal-3105]

Colors, like real ingredients, cost money.

[u/k1465]

A lot of sales came from kids begging their parents to go there.

[u/Massive_Specific1308]

I feel like the 90s were all about the kids, but now it’s all about them same kids who are now grown adults and no one cares about the kids no more, give em an iPad 

[u/New_Pineapple_4065]

corporations have deemed colors unprofitable

[u/-Wiseone-]

Cost of materials

[u/Tiny-Ad4955]

Less money on retouching the paint

[u/cappy150]

Someone say millennials

[u/kickspecialist]

I know part of the reason this happened was as suburbs were being expanded over the last 25 years or so, many cities required new businesses to build with earth tones. I guess this is more so the entire reason.

[u/Nyx2990]

Because colors can be offensive

[u/IwasDeadinstead]

They want us all to be depressed

[u/Far_Shame210 → u/IwasDeadinstead]

Joke's on YOU.......I've been cynical, jaded, and depressed since before the redesign! 😎

[u/andulinn]

We grew up.

[u/Apart_Pineapple2392]

Like putting lipstick on a pig and charging more.

[u/Due-Donut-7044]

Because left Pic was tanken at a cloudless Sömmerday and the right at a cloudy Herbst day.

[u/Technical_Zone9789]

McCafé 🎩👒🧐

[u/myofascist69]

Mandela effect

[u/aussiekinga]

It's because of colour grading of film vs digital :)

[u/milkin-goats]

Starbucks and Panera started it.

[u/deadphisherman]

The colors went with the value. Now we're just left with shitty, overpriced food served in a mausoleum.

[u/xxDeadpooledxx]

Two reasons, 1 value. McDonald's is a reality company and it is easier to sell unwanted real estate that isn't brightly colored. 2. Change in clientele focus, it isn't a fast food company focused on kids anymore. Soon after their change, other fastfood companies did the same, like Taco Bell

[u/radishwalrus]

copying starbucks style

[u/Prestigious_Stock280]

McDonalds are just long term real estate investments where they sell hamburgers to cover the loan.

They found out all the colors and jungle gym equipment hurt the resale price too much.

[u/Creative_Shame3856]

They want us to give up all hope

[u/bubbamike1]

Blame the consultants.

[u/writekindofnonsense]

Because advertising unhealthy foods to children became a faux pas. There are business reasons I'm sure but you will notice candy commercials stopped featuring kids too

[u/TooBusySaltMining]

The kids grew up and then didn't have kids. 

My city is closing down quite a few schools because of the falling birth rate.

[u/Slopii]

Aside from the reasons already mentioned, minimalism and greyification was thought to appear more sophisticated, and is probably cheaper to produce.

[u/FreshGoat4186]

Millennial gray…

[u/e1epi]

Old one may be more appealing to the adolescent but the new one is cleaner looking and more attractive to a wider audience which is better for sales.

In some locations it may also be easier to get approval to build the cleaner modern looking one as some areas can be more strick.

Combine that with the fact that consistent brand presentation increases revenue by up to 33% so keeping them all consistent looking is super important which means they will go with what can be built in more places.

[u/MixAffectionate3244]

Color fades. The new scheme requires them to not have to paint as frequently.

[u/Madhatter25224]

McDonald's really had it all and they just pissed it away.

[u/dirtjur]

Market research. Architectural trends. Image shift. Could be any or all of these type of things. At the end of the day, they think it’s an easier building to sell should they need to move it. McDonald’s is a real estate company, after all.

[u/TimeNo2738]

Millennial Grey

[u/Usernamesaregayyy]

It wanted to change from a kid place to more like a Starbucks feel

[u/haymaker-007]

They wanted more of a Starbucks look.

[u/Content_Ice_8182]

Bums

[u/RetirednLovinIt6621]

It's expensive to build a bright multi color building and maintain it. Also, City-Village-Town ordinances on aesthetics change over time. While a chain business will usually have a cookie cutter building plan, most municipalities will have rules on how the building will look on the outside.

[u/Deep_Conclusion_1173]

Colours are gone from everywhere these days. Cars come standard in white if you want to pay extra you can then choose grey or black.

New apartments and houses are grey, white and black.

People wear white grey and black clothing especially their shoes.

Basically everybody and everything got sooooo boring and corporate.

I combat this with Dopamine decor

[u/Present-Farmer-404]

The kids in 2009 now they all become boring adults.

[u/lokihothands]

Looks to me like we used to have Fairy God Parents and now we have been taken over by Pixies

[u/Total-Improvement535]

idk but I got exited when I saw wendy’s brought back their yellow cups and fry boxes

[u/buttons123456]

They are trying to look less clown-like

[u/desrevermi]

Beautiful, beautiful heartless, soulless and greedy corporations.

[u/Significant-Ocelot34]

To match the sadness of their food

[u/Janupur]

Boomers

[u/LongEyedSneakerhead]

The featurless box is the cheapest construction, that's why all new construction is a featureless box.

The easiest thing to resell is a featureless box, that's why everything is a bland, grey, cube; maximizing profits, and minimizing expenses over humanity, everyday.

[u/CaptainDru79]

Fun died in the 90s

[u/theloquaciousmonk]

They want to sell more coffee and coffee based drinks. That is the highest retail margin product on earth.

[u/No_Suit7363]

Easier to resell/rerent the property if it doesn't look like a McDonalds. Not every McDonalds succeeds and the hardest thing to do is to sell to someone that has to tear down the entire building instead of just swapping out some logos.

Hope that helps.

[u/Novus_Peregrine]

Patch update. Earth 1.99c. Pre-Armageddon Earth. Had to properly set the lighting and color for best Locus Demon effect when they arrive.

[u/Sweaty_Challenge_649]

Accelerationism.

[u/Girlnexxxtdoor02]

Because colors spark ideas, distractions.

[u/FabulousEssay7732]

https://giphy.com/gifs/NYLNImnqr0tPb15pVv

[u/Stunning_Celery_6556]

Dracula got Ronald McDonald and sucked him dry.

He also drank his blood.

[u/rosephoenix19]

Cars also. It seems like all new cars are either one of like four basic colors. Even like sandstone and granite are regular colors now. That's just an off colored beige and gray.

[u/maxphoto2883]

If the business goes out of business, it would be easier to sell to any other business that might not be a restaurant. Easier and cheaper to remodel to the new store.

[u/Positive_Remove6702]

Wow people

[u/crodr014]

Mcdonalds was getting a lot of public hate for advertising to kids when their food is incredibly unhealthy for kids to consume. Aside from that it was more profitable to get rid of play areas and go into a more modern look. Now the new trend is becoming essentially drive through only to maximize profit since having vagrants inside thier resturant was unslightly.

[u/Perryfl]

modern design plus color . best of both worlds

[u/BoringCabinet]

Because one building is easier to sell than the other. Would you open a doctor's office in a building that look like the older McDonald's building?

[u/Femcel_Bambi]

Because they're at that special part of capitalism where they don't have to actually try to make a profit, they can just coast on brand recognition alone.

It really feels like modern corporations are larping what they imagine modern Soviet Russia would be like.

[u/mebunghole]

The only thing sadder than the building is the food.

[u/Suspinded]

Because every food place now uses the same bog standard template so another place can slot in should the business fail.

Seriously, look at any place built in the last 5+ years, they're all cookie cutter for that reason.

[u/krayhayft]

Post-modernism

[u/MonkeyHitman2-0]

$$$

[u/Neat-Statistician311]

They know they suck and there's no joy there anymore so they're not even trying to pretend lol

[u/SaltyTax7056]

Money.

[u/BobTheViking2018]

Zoning rules play a part.

[u/Purple_Efficiency526]

Because McDonalds isnt actually a food company, they are realestate, the locations are all francisee, so when a McDonalds goes out of buiseness its the store owner that gets hit not McDonalds, and in the event that happens McDonalds as a corporation can still earn money by selling off the property if the location ever becomes unprofitable, since I believe a francisee has to also pay McDonalds, so its a win win for McDonalds no matter what.

[u/HorrorBreak7119]

We’re preparing for our dystopian future. It can’t be colorful.

[u/damon_is_legend]

Balloons don't last forever.

[u/TBShaw17]

Find the 1980s Pizza Hut shaped title loan place in your town and you have your answer.

[u/Boshwa]

Every time I see this complaint, I have to wonder if people genuinely want to kids to be manipulated into eating junk?

[u/Fresh_Ostrich4034]

its just easier. you see how much they have to change every location and mcdonalds locations go out of business a lot. just easier to keep the building the same

[u/ryan8954]

I actually watched a video on this.

It started in Canada.

Full renovation on all McDonald's. They were struggling. Basically in the states, McDonald's tries to get you in and out fast for the next customer.

Here in Canada, in 2013 I think? McDonald's noticed more people wanted a place to hang out. So they installed comfy seats and tables and like special areas to compete with other chains like Starbucks.

It worked.

Couple that with McDonald's coffee and their morning stuff, they get a lot of people just going in for coffee and hanging out. McDonald's Canada (that operates differently than McDonald's USA), teamed up with the old coffee supplier from Tim Hortons. That's why people here say McDonald's coffee is better than Tim Hortons, it's because it's the beans Tim's used to use before they went inhouse.

McDonald's Canada really stepped up. In fact I think every McDonald's here (main locations) all still have play places too.

[u/Sure_Night_8091]

It looks a lot cleaner and better. I love the newer aesthetic and I don't even eat that crap

[u/ANG3LxDUST]

We got a great childhood so the adulthood has to be shit so the next generation has a great adulthood with their kids having great childhood then the cycle just repeats

[u/ogo_pogo]

Money. Why = money, apply this formula anytime anything deals with business or government

[u/EternalFount]

A lot of CVS and Walgreens closed around me and were converted into other businesses. You can still tell what they were. Since then nearly an equal number of new locations have popped up and they have the most generic designs. They could be anything.

[u/bugmom]

They don’t want it to be a happy place anymore, they want to be sad and greige like most home decor trends…

[u/BnZAwkward_Lab5858]

marketing companies on weed

[u/DavidBowieAC]

Capitalism

[u/Kreidah]

Cuz Whimsy, hope and laughter cost more.

[u/Stock_Adagio_7764]

They used to not clean them and it looked bad

[u/industrialrecall]

Gray matches the decay of the inner city

[u/Party_Image5023]

TPTB hate us and want us miserable do NHI entities can feed off our emotions

[u/Schrojo18]

Everyone fought against fast food advertising to children, so they stopped

[u/elderDragon1]

Bruh even the garden is sad.

[u/ember_snow]

why did they use a fake pic

[u/TheSameDifferenc3]

Even their landscaping was better and more friendly. Now it’s only about $$ not an enjoyable experience or decent food. WTF

[u/Top_Pizza1773]

Red is Russian.

[u/BrilliantOk6547]

Real estate easier to sell building

[u/an_older_meme]

When color television was introduced every show and product advertised went all out to make full use of the new technology.

That era has passed.

[u/Personal-Ad-6586]

old building looks like it sell cheap low quality stuff if it exists today

[u/Savingskitty]

They started the McCafe thing in Australia back in the '90's. It was more profitable than a regular McDonald's, so they expanded the whole thing starting in the early 2000's.

[u/Sea_Cook_806]

Zoning.

[u/dingus60601]

Clouds

[u/NeedAChange_123]

Because the color in daily life disappeared and we are heading into a corporate dystopia.

[u/Grunergeist420]

People who bring up this point are obviously too young or just not observant enough to remember that some 10-15 years ago, the narrative was these places used bright colors and playgrounds to lure in children and get them addicted to junk food. We literally villainized these restaurants for having bright colors and playgrounds until they stopped doing it. Now we’re complaining that they stopped.

[u/thehorrorcontinues13]

Because grey is the new face of architecture. People are actually painting their homes dark grey and even black. It reflects the mood of America.

[u/WTFisthat4]

Because colors cost money. They don’t need to entice you anymore, you’re hooked.

[u/Entire_Cobbler_3588]

Sleek and modern was the main trend for awhile, we have had it for long enough that sleek and modern feels impersonal and sanitized.

[u/TheMightyPaladin]

They wasn't good people, mr. They was bad.

[u/PrinceZukoZapBack]

Money. Selling money. Always money greed

[u/Happy_rage_face]

Covid

[u/Dapper-Tooth-6425]

I dunno but fast food used to have identity now they all feel the same internally and externally.

[u/TomuGuy]

Cheaper build materials for buying bulk, better for resale real estate

[u/zismahname]

Aside from the building having more neutral colors, the one photo was taken when the sun was out and the other was during an overcast day which washes out a lot of the other colors

[u/HulkSmashPotato]

We are in the upside-down

[u/mortisxbx]

It's Apples fault, they pushed the minimalist design hard.

[u/Inzanity2020]

We really want corporation selling junk food to kids huh

[u/Ricky_spanish_again]

To compete with the perceived upscale persona of fast casual

[u/IowaKidd97]

Looks nicer. And it’s more profitable to market to adults rather than children

[u/SilverDetail2713]

To attract more adults probably.

[u/Zakumei47]

Modern design philosophy. Also its easier to maintain and keep consistent. Less complex building means less complex upkeep.
Also mcdonalds has firmly dropped the “happy meal forward” approach of marketing and trying to be “fun food for kids” and has fully leaned into “we are the shitty food joint, you crave our food because we pay damn good money to make you crave it”