Yes, burn the motha' down... with the rotating flame chandeliers... Here's hopin' they are actual flames, because that would actually be cool... unlike the inside of their restaurant, which in my opinion, looks dorky.

I would not go to a new BK even if they paid me. I am avoiding fast food chains like the plague. I may even avoid hamburger in general after the NY Times article. [www.nytimes.com]

All the good retailers and restaurants change up their look every so often. Some department stores completely move everything in the store every five years just to create new looks. Refreshing logos, graphics, facades and other looks really is a good way to keep a brand interesting. But, it won't make a good brand great, and it definitely won't make a bad brand palatable.

They may get a slight surge in people checking out the new look, but ultimately it is the food and the service that brings people back.

i have a BK, McDs, and Wendys all on the same intersection or thereabouts. BK sometimes wins bc it doesn't require any left turns at uncontrolled intersections.

I get everything here except for... "relaunched in Amsterdam"?? WTF?? Burger King is AMERICAN. Do it here or don't do it anywhere. Jerks.

Maybe if they changed the way their food tastes I would go. Their fries are gross and the burgers are limp.

If they just cleaned up their current models, that would be good enough for me.

@Radi0logy: Hey now, maybe they meant Amsterdam, NY..... Or not??

God knows my mind first went there, but only because I'm fairly local to it.

I don't frequent fast food but if I go, it's BK Lounge all the way. The past few I went in still give off the cheezy 70's feel. I think it's the brown and oranges that make me feel this. While the food keeps me going back, I think the change to a more modern design will improve the overall feel of the restaurant and encourage those who are borderline about the food to return.

Of all the fast food burger places near me (BK, McD's, Wendy's, Dairy Queen) BK is the most filthy and has the sketchiest customers. I dread going in there and touching any surface and I always feel like I'm going to get mugged on my way out the door... Especially at the one in Downtown Hartford.

Interesting..."fast casual" like Panera is far more spendy than fast food, or it's quasi fast food counterpart, Subway...

@Radi0logy:

Maybe it's because they don't need any help selling burgers here in the US. Too many fat-asses that can't go without their fattening, artery clogging, junk calorie filled processed shit they call food

In Europe, however, I bet it's a different story.

@coren: But Panera is yummy.

It sounds like they're doing something similar to Chipotle, which I don't mind. They'll have to up the quality of food too, though, to get me in there.

The McDonald's in my town all remodeled so they look more like coffee shops. It's an improvement. Now if they could only do something about the food...

@tawnieknight@gmail.com looking for a google wave:

Thanks to that article I'll be buying my ground beef from Costco from now on. Says they're one of the few who test for e-coli BEFORE grinding the ground beef

Oftentimes the level of disgust I feel when sitting down inside one of these fast food restaurants far surpasses the feelings that come from actually eating the food. If I didn't feel so grossed out about touching any surface inside a BK/McD/Wendy's etc. then I think would actually eat in those places more.

The BKs near me were remodeled within the past few years, but unfortunately, they were not well maintained and are already due for a renovation again. COntrast that with a McDonalds near me that was redecorated to include attractive etched glass, cherry wood trim and fresh cut flowers on every table. No signs of Ronald or the Fry Guys. Combine that with free WiFi, and it would be a very comfortable place for a business traveler to catch up on some E-mails and relax before getting on the road again, or a salesman to kill some time between customer appointments (where presumably they will purchase some food and beverage).

Restaurants like Panera or Cosi are a bit more expensive than McD and BK, but they offer a different menue with more variety (At BK and McD you can choose between processed fish, processed chicken, or 15 types of burgers, while at Panera and Cosi you can choose hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, wraps, salads, pizzas with a variety of different ingredients). Panera and Cosi also tend to have a bit more of a relaxed feel to them where people can sit and unwind, chat with friends or do some work away from the office.

They should spend $600k improving the food instead.

@zacox: I hate it when grocery stores change their aisles. I can understand if they do this to make room for more stuff, but when I walk into a Cheap-Food Store (or a grocery store chain I didn't just make up) - I want to be able to find what I'm looking for. If I want interesting and new, I wander over to the meat or bakery counters. Changing the aisles around is just frustrating. After our last move, I thought I'd never drink Tang again because I couldn't find it at any of the three grocery stores in the area - and I finally found it this month, hiding up on the top shelf in a weird category. And this even after I asked employees.

@NewsMuncher: Believe it or not, experts actually tell them to do this, and they tell them exactly when to do this. Yes, it sure is frustrating not knowing where your Tang is, but they want you to find everything else you don't need while looking for it! Grrr!

I rarely eat fast food (usually stop during long road trip) but remodels are definitely an improvement. I went to a Hardee's about a year ago and was surprised at how modern and "hip" it looked. Most Hardee's I had seen years previous, looked sad and dated. Food was still mediocre, they they did have some interesting new options.

Here is what I don't like about fast food joints:

Wendys: Greaseburgers that you have to wring out before you eat.

McDonalds: Make your workers exercise some quality control over the food prep. Whatever has been done to the Big Mac that makes it taste sour needs to stop.

Burger King: Haven't been there in a while and I really don't know why.

KFC: Why does it take so damn long to get my food after I order it when you are just placing pre-cooked food in a container?

Popeyes: Just keep doing what you're doing. I'll see you this Friday. Maybe remodel some of your stores.

Long John Silvers: Open some more stores, like, near me.

Sonic: Ditto.

White Castle: Infinity ditto.

@pxf9641: It seems odd that it's the highest grossing Burger King in the world, then. ;)

I hate the smell of grease in fast food restaurants. I worked at McD's as a teen, and after a month, the grease would not come out of my work-shirt, no matter how many times I washed it. When I walk into a fast food restaurant and smell the grease, I feel it on my skin.
That and the smell of exploded ketchup packets. The vinegar from them begins to smell after a while if you can't get to it to clean it up.
Unless I'm craving fast food, I won't go near one... unless it's Chick-Fil-A - the smell isn't as overpowering and my husband loves their sandwiches. It feels fresher in a C-F-A than other places. Shrugs. Maybe it is perception.

@The Cheat: Oh yeah...

Arbys: Why is your food so damn expensive?

Taco Bell: Your bland food doesn't do anything but make me not hungry.

@zacox: See: Kmart. I was in one the other day and shocked at the run-down, dated look of everything there.

Perception counts for a lot, and my perception was that I was shopping in a shithole and I didn't want to return.

They redid my local BK and took out the rails where you used to feel like you were in a corral. Now there is nothing to lean on waiting 8 minutes for your cold sandwich. I did not see chrome, but did see a lot of new tile.

@TheGreenMnM: I actually think Dane Cook incorporated BK Lounge into one of his acts, but it was long before BK decided to de-grease their establishments.

The only reason I feel the need to go to BK is when I our 4yr old is being particularly wired. She goes ape in playland while I 'enjoy' a lovely apple pie.

@coren:But Panera's atmosphere is decidedly more about the experience. Subway caters more to the to-go eater. Panera offers lattes and pastries and artisan breads.

@NewsMuncher: A-FREAKIN'-MEN.

I actually switched brands of "feminine products" after my preferred brand kept changing the package so it took me more than 6 seconds to identify which box I wanted. I like the ones I use now less, but I'm not willing to spend two minutes hunting for the right type of maxipad, particularly when there are 400 different kinds.

I've long said this is BK's problem. Their stores are poorly lit, and seeting is antique, and the layouts are beyond terrible. They should have started remodeling 10 years ago like McD's.

@The Cheat: Why would you even want to eat at Long John Silvers? Fast food fish is not advisable. Ever.

@NewsMuncher: I like CFA but their oil (peanut?) they fry in is VERY heavy in my stomach. After eating a sandwich and fries I feel like I ate a bowling ball.

@Radi0logy: @Kamidari: Stoners eat more burgers. ;)

The allure of fast casual restaurants is the higher quality food. Remodeling stores might help but I don't see it making a huge impact.

On another note though, I really want a pair of Estrada sunglasses.

Great poll options. If it's the Amsterdam Airport (Schipol) location, this Burger King really did catch on fire (I know, 'cause I was one of the lucky people stuck on a plane watching the billowing smoke).

They can tart up the interior all they like, but what they really need to do is address the quality of the food and the service. The last time I ate at a BK (7 or 8 years ago) the dead-eyed, shambling staff literally could not have cared less if the food they lethargically prepared for me and flung toward the tray landed there safely or not.

They did this remodel to the two in my town. Both had been practically the same since before I was born, they had a... homely feel to them. Now they're smaller, less comfortable, and full of brushed metal and frosted glass. It's like someone took a nice little log cabin, demolished it, and built a metalworks in its place.
My eating habits there haven't changed much, but I don't go in as much as I used to.

@pecan 3.14159265: "He'll take you to the whopper Lair. That's where you go. And you've got 10 minutes to get there or we take your food!"

I go between hating and loving Dane Cook...I have to say, he's ridiculous, but also pretty hilarious.

@katstermonster: I think the ridiculousness is part of the hilarity. He takes his anecdotes and blows them out of proportion. I really liked his act about his job at BK.

Didn't McDonald's already do this? BK is behind the times. And speaking of McDonald's, I only ever do drive thru, so the few times I have been in one lately, I still do a double take at the lack of garish red and yellow plastic.

@pxf9641: It's a shame irradiated ground beef hasn't really caught on. This would be a non-issue then.

NOTHING makes me want to go to BK.

@coren: I could also sit in Panera for a bit to read the paper or a book. With Subway, I'm in and out as fast as I can.

Figure out a way to make their fries taste like crap and I'll start choosing them over Wendy's or McDonalds. I like Whoppers, but those weird coated fries just ruin it. I don't care that the place looks like if the food sucks.

@aloria: Make their fries *not* taste like crap. Doh. More coffee, please...