It's no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic is going to change how thousands of businesses operate in the future. One of those is McDonald's, which is re-thinking their restaurant Playlands' viability.
In an interview with TIME, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski talks about how the pandemic will affect restaurants in the future. He talks about a growing affinity for "old favorites" like the Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder, how restaurants are dealing with mask mandates and safety protocols, and the future of dine-in (spoiler alert: he thinks it'll come back).
But here's an interesting tidbit that was said in passing. When asked "will you ever build a ball pit again?" his response is pretty pointed.
"I don't know if we've got ball pits in our future. There's probably some good public health reasons not for us to be doing a lot of ball pits."
Does that mean the end of McDonald's Playland? Or just the ball pit feature? Will other kid-friendly restaurant chains follow suit?
Would you take your kid to a ball pit right now? What about three years from now?