What McDonald's New 'Dollar Menu & More' Means For Customers

ThrillistA $5 meal from McDonald'sOn November 4, McDonald's will roll out the new "Dollar Menu & More."

The menu includes items from the current dollar menu, while adding two more tiers of premium and shareable items, company CEO Don Thompson said on a conference call yesterday.

The new higher-priced items include a $2 McDouble with Bacon and a $5 20-piece Chicken McNuggets.

Since McDonald's announced the new menu, there has been speculation that the beloved Dollar Menu is going away for good.

But Scott Hume at Burger Business assured us that the Dollar Menu is here to stay.

"I think it expands on rather than dismisses the Dollar Menu," Hume told us, emphasizing that favorites like the McDouble and McChicken will remain on the menu. "The strategy is to provide both affordability to low-discretionary-income consumers and profitable low-end items for its franchisees."

The company has said that while rising commodity costs are cutting into profits, the Dollar Menu remains a priority because it attracts cash-strapped customers.

About one third of McDonald's customers shop from the value menu, Thompson said.