McDonald’s Is Ditching Self-Serve Soda At All Michigan Locations

If there’s one thing most of us can agree on, it’s that McDonald’s fountain drinks taste better. But if you’re looking to refill that Coke or Sprite while you dine in, you might be out of luck in the near future. McDonald’s is making big changes to restaurants, and we could be seeing the end of free refills.

McDonald's Is Ditching Self-Serve Soda At All Michigan Locations

For years, being able to walk up and grab your own refill, or some chaotic combination of Sprite and Hi-C, has been part of the experience inside a McDonald's restaurant. And with fast food prices these days, those free refills feel like a small win.

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The self-serve drink stations arrived at McDonald's locations in 2004, but now the company says it will be phasing them out soon. According to Cheapism, Customers are already noticing the disappearance of do-it-yourself soda fountains in restaurants, being replaced by employee-filled drinks or automated beverage systems behind the counter.

According to McDonald’s, it’ll be up to franchise owners to decide whether to offer refills at no charge, allowing each location to make its own policies. On the flip side, removing the soda fountains will allow McDonald’s to control beverage portion sizes and cleanliness.

While the chain plans to completely phase out soda fountains by 2032 across all U.S. dining rooms, the transition is expected to be gradual, with the soda fountains fading out over the next several years as restaurants are remodeled or updated, Fox Business reported.