Double-digit prices for fast food chicken? In this economy?
That’s what TikTok creator Leen (@engineerleen) seemed to think on a recent Chick-fil-A run, and she posted her reaction in a video that has almost 17,000 likes and more than 155,000 views.
@engineerleen WHY IS CHIKFILA SO EXPENSIVE jesus christ im guna have to work overtime to cover for this!!!!!!!!!
♬ original sound – Leen the Engineer
In the video, Leen is seen sitting in her car in the Chick-fil-A drive-thru, explaining to the camera that if there weren’t people behind her, she’d back up out of the line.
“I don’t mean to be broke, but for an eight-count mini and a lemonade, $14?” she says with disbelief. “Are you kidding me? For my breakfast? My fast-food breakfast?”
Leen says that she wanted some protein like Chick-fil-A before working outside that day, but that she should have just gone to Starbucks, which she normally considers a treat.
She says of the pricey chicken, “This? This is fine dining.”
“Im guna have to work overtime to cover for this,” she joked in the video’s caption.
We looked into those menu prices, and while our Chick-fil-A in Austin, Texas, doesn’t offer an eight-count Chick-n-Mini option, a 10-count meal runs $14.85 and a large lemonade costs $3.15. Woof.
The comment section had Leen’s back.
“I got two orders of the grilled nuggets and they were $19 … for like 6 oz of chicken,” someone commented.
“Girl, I literally bought my mom a large mac n cheese (wasn’t even big) $9! NINE DOLLARS,” someone commented. Leen replied, “That’s actually criminal.”
“I hardly go to fast food anymore for this reason. If I’m out with friends or family we go to a restaurant bc it’s all the same price now,” a viewer chimed in.
“Fast fooood is so expensive now,” another person commented.
And it’s not just Chick-fil-A, according to commenters.
“Went to Taco Bell for the first time in forever and it was $19 for just myself….I was shocked,” one commenter wrote. Leen replied, “Yup for me and my husband it’s like $40. We might as well gone to a sit down!”
“Me when I got a smoothie from Panera and it was $6.19. Like YOU ARE NOT STARBUCKS BABE,” another comment read.
It’s not Leen’s imagination, or ours. Fast food prices are going up. Chick-fil-A’s price inflation has been among the highest, jumping 15.6% on an average meal from 2021 to 2022, according to CNET.
“On an annual basis, fast-food menu prices are up 8.2%,” Restaurant Business Online reported in May, citing food and labor costs as the culprit. However, the food industry publication said that there’s no sign of menu price increases slowing down, even as contributing factors ease.
The Daily Dot reached out to Leen via Instagram direct message and Chick-fil-A via email.
