Update: Fast Food Workers Striking Over Working Conditions, Wages, Around St. Louis

An organized movement of strikes began in St. Louis and is spreading across the region. Employees at McDonald's in North St. Louis County, and Jimmy John's took to the picket lines Wednesday. Employees at 20 fast food locations will strike Thursday.

People peacefully gathered and marched in front of a Ferguson McDonald's Restaurant today. You could hear the group of about 100 chanting during the strike," We started from the bottom and now we're here; $7.35 just ain't fair." There was also, "We want change and we ain't talking about pennies." As well, a whole host of additional songs. But for all the people smiling, the subject at hand was serious. The crowd gathered as part of a movement to unionize fast food restaurants throughout the St. Louis Region. Employees at the Ferguson McDonald's, located at 9131 W. Florissant, stood outside in plain clothes around 3:45 p.m., and protested for respect through better pay and improved working conditions. Shannon Garth-Rhodes, spokesperson with…

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Restaurant Roundup

Restaurant Roundup: Commercial Shoot in Loop, New BBQ

McDonalds recently shot a commercial in the Delmar Loop.

A film crew was in University City earlier this week to shoot a commercial for McDonalds'. The crew shot along the Chuck Berry Statue in the Delmar Loop. The Riverfront Times Gut Check blog reports that the spot is part of a new series called "Good Morning, STL." Tina Cross, a freelancer serving as the line producer for the commercial, told the RFT she thinks this is one of many advertising campaigns targeting a specific region or city that McDonald's is beginning to produce all over the U.S. The commercial also shot downtown and at Lambert St. Louis International Airport.  Vernon's Gets a Rave Review The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reviewed five new barbecue joints in the St. Louis area, giving Vernon's BBQ in University City high marks.  The…

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Nutritious Bites

McDonald’s Joins the Calories on the Menu List

Patrons will be able to find the calorie count on all their favorite McDonald's foods.

Last week McDonald’s, the largest quick-serv restaurant in the United States, announced that it would join the list of a small number of restaurants that provide calorie information on their menus. McDonald’s stated in their press release that labeling of menus was a part of an overall nutrition plan. In addition to the inclusion of calories on the menus, something that will start this week, in 2013 McDonald’s will test foods that will increase the number of wholesome choices on their menus. Using the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans as a guide, McDonalds’ will include more recommended food groups in the following ways: These plans follow the introduction this past summer of “Favorites Under 400” a menu that highlights information on …

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Myra's Musings

Good Try Daddy, But Son Knows the Real Deal

My son knows the difference between a McNugget and a faux-nugget.

Several weeks ago I confessed my secret fast food life, and my son's excursions to McDonald's with me. My husband is not a fan of fast food, so always the problem solver, he came up with the idea to make our son healthier, homemade chicken nuggets. Well, it failed. Not because the nuggets weren't yummy, they were. But there's no fooling our 2-year-old. He knew immediately they weren't the authentic "now made with all white meat kind." So, my husband and I ate the nuggets, which were good. I'm actually considering next time, putting the homemade nuggets in an old Happy Meal box and presenting them that way.  Am I over-thinking this? By the way, his favorite food is magic cheese. Yes, magic cheese. I was stumped until this week when I …

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Myra's Musings

My Secret Fast Food Life

My son and I like McDonald's. My husband eats it once a year.

I love McDonald's. My husband, not so much.  So when my husband is out of town my son and I can often be found in the drive-thru of the McDonald's on Olive Blvd. I try to be good, getting him apples and milk with his nugget happy meal.  Recently, when we picked daddy up at the airport, my son did the unthinkable. He spilled the beans on our little excursions. "Chicken McNuggets" he kept saying loudly from the back seat. My husband was trying to decipher what our two-year-old was saying. I was trying to prompt our toddler away from the Golden Arch's conversation. But finally my husband got it. "Is he saying Chicken McNuggets," he asked. Sheepishly I admitted we'd been there once, maybe twice.  I left out the "maybe more" part.  I had …

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Michele Wynn

9:43 am on Thursday, February 3, 2011

Hey Myra, I have a secret like that too. Or should I say my 17 year old does. Being that I live right off 82nd Street and those golden arches are right there on Olive where do you think Staci hangs out mostly? I'm fairly certain that McD's gets the bulk of her "lunch money" daily because I always see empty bags in her car.   more ›