McDonald's Won the World. So Why Is It Losing America?

McDonald's opens a new restaurant somewhere on Earth roughly every 8 hours — yet inside the U.S., restaurant counts are shrinking in specific counties and its lowest-income customers are vanishing from traffic counts two years running. This is the real estate math behind the Golden Arches: mandatory remodels costing up to $750,000, percentage rent that rewards higher prices regardless of franchisee profit, and app-only discounts that quietly lock out customers without smartphones or data plans. Franchisees are suing, small towns are losing their only late-night restaurant, and corporate calls it 'restaurant count optimization.' Subscribe and hit like if you want the next brand taken apart — and tell us in the comments: is the McDonald's in your town still standing?