I think the problem is they oversold franchises, there quality went down and there 10 times more choices of places to eat. when I was a kid going to a place like mc Donald’s happened only when we were traveling or a special occasion. I am sure that is the case with most of my generation. people eat out a lot more now and because of that they are more likely to choose something else besides mc donalds. years ago when I was a kid there was not that much choice of burger joints.
You are on to something. Time has marched on.
When I was a kid the nearest McD’s was over 25 minutes away in the next town. It was something to do with the family on a Friday night without dropping big cash.
Totally different world today.