Introduction

Introduction Restaurants offer opportunities of business that are highly profitable if executed in the right manner and can never become obsolete. People have always been fond of food, still are, and will continue to be irrespective of the technological, social, or any other advances. In order to make the most out of a restaurant business and make a name in the industry, it is advisable for new entrepreneurs contemplating to establish their businesses in the food industry to conduct a detailed study of the success stories of the past. To facilitate them with this process as well as to make original contribution to literature, this paper discusses what criteria a budding restaurants needs to meet in order to set its foot and expand in the highly challenging and competitive contemporary food industry. This paper uses the Porter’s Five-Forces model to examine a restaurant’s competitive environment. Taking McDonald’s as a case study, this paper discusses the threats and opportunities an expanding restaurant faces today and the advantages and disadvantages associated with its strategic moves. McDonald’s is one of the most successful fast food chains of all time. Having achieved such a phenomenal success and expansion in a matter of much less than a century, McDonald’s has a lot to offer new and budding entrepreneurs in terms of mission, vision, strategic decision making, and ways to achieve success. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for McDonald’s that can help it even improve the pace of its success and the quality of its products and services.