Zaxby's Nutrition Articles & Resources

"What's going on?" they ask.

The answer lies in the names of companies large and small across the region that were largely unknown 10 years ago and today are offering consumers more choices. Among the companies are Atlanta Bread Company, Barnie's Coffee & Tea, Beef O'Brady's, Bullets, Cafe Carolina and Bakery, Cozzoli's and Flamers Charburgers.

There's also McAlister's Deli, Mo-Joe's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Nature's Table, Planet Smoothie, Roly-Poly, Steak-Out, Tiajuana Flats and Zaxby's.

I could toss in some of the newcomer national giants as well, like Starbucks, which is operating on almost every corner in America today.

What's happening to McDonald's and Burger King? Competition is happening.

As McDonald's itself has conceded, "one [quick-service] brand can't be all things to all people."

Indeed, customers who are pressed for time and willing to eat something different seem to be trying the competition. "People want variety" is another truth that McDonald's is willing to concede.

We are living in one of the most revolutionary decades in the history of restaurants. We've seen the chaining of bagel concepts, big-burrito concepts, cafe-bakery concepts, chicken-wing concepts, gelato concepts, gourmet-coffee concepts and smoothie concepts.

We've seen the birth of home-delivered steaks, and we've seen convenience stores and gas stations jumping on the espresso and cappuccino bandwagon. We've seen drive-thru hamburger brands offering Angus beef. We've seen grocery stores hiring chefs in a bid to compete for the meals-to-go dollar. And do I need to mention nutrition?

But don't think for a minute that McDonald's and Burger King are blind to the problem. Ten years ago, when double drive-thru kiosks were springing open by the thousands from Birmingham, Ala., to Charleston, ., a lot of investors believed the burger giants were in a world of trouble.

As we know, the 99-cent-sandwich wars were launched at that time, and after a mighty blood bath, a lot of the big drive-thru brands became history. Checkers and Rally's, who were hitter competitors, had to merge in order to survive.

Double drive-thru was born in our region, but its purpose in retrospect has been to make McD's and BK better. Today Burger King does percent of its business in drive-thru, and another percent in takeout. That's nearly three-fourths of the business at the $ billion chain. No wonder that there aren't very many of the early drive-thru burger restaurants left.

There are new challenges today, but both chains are staying aggressive. Some 1,300 to 1,400 new McDonald's units will open around the world this year -- at least 10 percent of them in the Southeast.

And don't forget about McD's newest agreements with such "partner brands," as Fazoli's, Boston Market, Donato's, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Pret A Manger. McD's now has more than 1,000 nonburger, fast-casual restaurants operating across the United States.

The giants are being stepped on. But they also are trying to get on their feet again. When they start walking, you will hear the ground shake.