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Fin24 burger fans licking their lips

Cape Town - Reactions were mixed on the news that Burger King would soon adorn the SA landscape alongside rival McDonald's.

In an email Fin24 user Leon, a not-so-frequent burger eater, said it is great news that Burger King is coming to South Africa.

"When I used to live in London, I always opted for Burger King instead of McDonald's for the simple reason that their food was so much better. I first discovered Burger King at the King's Cross station, while waiting for my train.

"After my first bite of that juicy Whopper (their equivalent of the Quarter Pounder), I wondered why anyone would opt for McDonald's if they can have a Burger King burger.

"The problem was Burger King Restaurants were more difficult to find than McDonald's. The UK number-of-restaurant statistics says it all: 650 vs 1 200.

"This will probably be the case in SA too, where Burger King will have to fight for premises and market gaps against the giant that opened its first restaurant on November 11 1995 in Blackheath, Johannesburg.

"Almost all of our shopping centres have a McDonald's - do you think they'll put pressure on the centre management not to allow a Burger King to open?

"Fast food and healthy eating don't get mentioned in the same sentence, but for the calorie-counters out there, it seems that Burger King's food is slightly healthier, albeit with bigger portions. See http://www.acaloriecounter.com/fast-food.php if you really care.

"Even though I avoid fast food, all I can say is: 'Bring it on, Burger King!' and let the rest of you discover 'the better burger'. It doesn't top Wendy's, but who knows if they'll ever come here?"

Another Fin24 user, Tebogo Thobakgale, thinks South Africa really needs Burger KIng. "As you are aware of our unemployment rate, foreign investment has proved that it can have a huge impact on our economy."

Dwight Langeveldt agrees, and thinks the fast food chain will be good competition and good for service. He writes:

"Yes,we do need another fast food chain, because at the moment you just have the normal ones like Steers, Spur, KFC, etc... at the moment when you go in there the service really sucks, the food quality is bad and the people behind the counter acts as if you are doing them a favour by buying at their store.

"Also it will help break the growing monopoly, and in so doing improve the level of service. Besides, BK is really good."

"Like all things, take-aways are treats and fun, inexpensive ways of beating the monotony of cooking every night," writes a delighted Monique Kerr from Durban.

"As long as it's not abused I say bring on Burger King as McDonald's needs a competitor and Burger King is far superior."

A concerned Thabo Makgolo says he thinks "it's bad enough we have McDonald's, KFC and all these other American franchises".

"We need to explore healthier eating patterns... and bringing such franchises do not help our economy, let alone the health of the children and youth who are the ones most affected by fast food."

Shelvine Erasmus says that if companies want to invest in South Africa, why not? "How can we say no to more jobs, I don't think we can afford to.

"On the health side, people need to be educated on healthy eating habits. More competition is always good for business."

 - Fin24

Something on your mind? Give us your feedback on editor@fin24.com.

Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyFin24 have been independently written by members of the Fin24 community. The views of users published on Fin24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent those of Fin24.

Fin24 reserves the right to obtain service providers' comments before publishing any articles or letters, and to edit any material used. Fin24 also reserves the right to edit or delete any and all user comments received.
 
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