Guilty Eats
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The diary of a Black Friday fast food eater

By Kareem Gantt

STRATFORD, ENGLAND - JULY 31: Members of the public dine in the food court of the giant Westfield Stratford shopping mall adjacent to the Olympic Park on July 31, 2012 in London, England. Trading in the huge 1.9 million sq ft mall has been boosted by the footfall of spectators, volunteers and competitors from the Olympic Park; whilst shops and restaurants in London's West End are reporting up to 70% declines in revenue. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
STRATFORD, ENGLAND - JULY 31: Members of the public dine in the food court of the giant Westfield Stratford shopping mall adjacent to the Olympic Park on July 31, 2012 in London, England. Trading in the huge 1.9 million sq ft mall has been boosted by the footfall of spectators, volunteers and competitors from the Olympic Park; whilst shops and restaurants in London's West End are reporting up to 70% declines in revenue. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) /
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A ‘closed’ Burger King and iffy fried rice are just two of the many fast food encounters I had on Black Friday. This is my diary.

There are a lot of things that I do for journalism that I wouldn’t do regularly. Going on a fast-food tour during the black hole that is Black Friday is one of them. Having planned this for a while (OK, maybe two weeks in advance), I decided that I was going to do a running diary of what eating out was like on Black Friday and documenting my experiences.

It was all planned out — I was going to go to Burger King first, then Starbucks, hit the Altamonte Mall in suburban Altamonte Springs, FL and experience the fast food court throughout the day. Let’s just say, I didn’t get to noon.

There’s something about me and crowds that doesn’t vibe well and as soon as the mall started to fill up with Black Friday shoppers, I high-tailed it out of there! Though I fell way short of my goal, I did get enough material to write this story of what I experienced on Black Friday, and why I’ll never do this again.

This is my Black Friday fast food diary. Enjoy my suffering.

6:14 AM: An employee-less Burger King

I did my normal stop at my local Dunkin’ to grab a cup of coffee and talk to one of my friends who is the overnight supervisor here. At 14 minutes after 6 a.m., I set sail for my first stop of the day: Burger King! Judging from this experience, I could tell just what type of day I was going to be in for.

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Burger King’s inside lobby is supposed to be open by 6 a.m., but when I got to the door, it was locked. At first, I thought they may have kept it locked to finish cleaning, which is what they usually do, but when the clock struck 6:45 a.m., I knew something was amiss.

I knocked on the door, and the overnight manager proceeded to tell me and another customer that the restaurant was closed, no one came in. Flippin’ awesome, so much for a quick fast food breakfast. Slightly dejected, I trudge on to my backup.

7:19 AM: A deserted Steak n’ Shake

I walk up the street to Steak n’ Shake, fully expecting it to be popping off with Black Friday shoppers. When I opened the door, I found something astonishing: It was empty.

Yep, I was the only one inside the Steak n’ Shake, which shook me to my core.

7:50 AM – 10:19 AM: Procrastinating at Starbucks

Yes, I took this time to collect my thoughts and get myself into a mental mood to tackle the Altamonte Mall food court on Black Friday. I wasn’t expecting to stay as long as I did, but as it would turn out, I’m glad I did.

10:25 AM: First mall food court survey

When I arrived at the mall, the parking lot was packed, as I expected. This is a pretty busy mall, so it was the perfect proving ground to get the gist of what the mall would look like on Black Friday.

I tried to get some of the food vendors to do a quick interview with me but to no avail. Maybe they didn’t want to talk to me because they were busy, or just didn’t want to talk, period. Nevertheless, no vendor would agree to a quick interview, so I just observed. There’s a certain type of briskness that befalls on a mall food court on Black Friday. It also seems as if every vendor raise their prices at the fast food court.

Big cereal and candy makers are getting in on the Gingerbread House craze. dark. Next

No joke, I went to the Cajan Chaos food counter and ordered just plain fried rice. Guess how much it was? $4.81. And I didn’t even get a drink.

It was at that point where I knew it was time for me to roll out, so I did. It was an interesting experience for the short time I was there, but one I really wouldn’t do again. Especially if they’re going to raise their freakin’ prices.

Did you notice higher fast food prices while you were out or did you not even dare brave the crowds this weekend? 

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