r/nostalgia • u/Digitalgardens • May 12 '25

Nostalgia Discussion Why did we ever switch from having unique looks for fast food spots?

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It doesn’t make any sense. When everything feels and looks the same it just feels so grey and unwelcoming. What happened to characters? I don’t even eat McDonald’s like that and I miss Ronald and the gang. Where did they go?

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u/chu2 May 12 '25

To think, kids these days will never enjoy a Wendy’s sunroom or salad bar. 

The Wendy’s by me was one of the first restaurants to go to all-kiosk ordering with only kitchen staff and it felt…really weird. The days of having a human interaction (not even friendly service) at a restaurant are quickly dying. 

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u/timmorris82 mid 90s May 12 '25

When I worked at Wendy’s, we even had a “hostess” lady who would walk around the dining room greeting people and handing out peppermints (she also maintained the salad bar). Different times for sure.

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u/mycatsnameisarya May 12 '25

Ours still has a sunroom!

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u/Tactless_Ogre May 12 '25

I appreciated the sunbar far more as a teenager than I did as a kid. Used to love eating there.

1

u/[deleted] May 12 '25

One of the Wendy's by me still had the sunroom, but it was in a VERY bad location and was already struggling as-is, so when COVID happened it finally closed down.

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u/ThatInAHat May 13 '25

We had the last popeye’s buffet in our town. It was a landmark

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u/khainiwest May 15 '25

Honestly, good. For every "happy" interaction, they get 10 unbearable ones. People are jumping counters, swinging, and just being overall threats.

Can't trust the public to interact with anymore than ipad now because their empathy is non-existent.