The 60-year-old burger chain and its U.S. franchisees are in the process of updating their restaurants according to several new designs, part of a wider effort to breathe new life into an aging brand. McDonald’s is battling a years-long sales slump brought on by growing competition from upscale fast food chains like Shake Shack as well as newly food-focused companies like Starbucks.
“We’ve moved away from a cafeteria feel to a more comfortable and, in some ways, more intimate restaurant,” Max Carmona, McDonald’s senior director of U.S. restaurant design, told BuzzFeed News. Cafeterias aren’t stylish, but “it’s a legacy,” he said.