If on Auckland's Queen St today and in the mood for a Big Mac, the good news is that you can pick one up for 75 cents before 2pm; the bad news is that there might be a long wait for your fast food.
It's all because McDonald's New Zealand is marking 40 years in the country today, and as a celebration they've taken a trip back to the '70s in the CBD -- reconstructing the prices, menu, uniforms and the décor of the time period.
Head of communications for McDonald's in New Zealand Simon Kenny says the idea initially spawned about a year ago when they were beginning to think ahead to the big day, but they could never quite predict just how popular it would be -- the queues are out the door.
"We started talking about what we were going to do for our 40th about a year ago, and we sort of thought imagine if we went back to the original prices.
"Serving this many people for a day is a big ask for the kitchen, so we've had to put in extra grills and extra fryers just to be able to keep the queues moving."
The first New Zealand McDonald's was set up in Porirua in the 1970s and incorporated 10 items on the menu. They've now got around 150 items, but the Big Mac and the Quarter Pounder, the Cheese Burger have stood the test of time.
Until 2pm, all items on the original menus will be the same price as they were when they were introduced to the country.
As for the staff pitching in today, Mr Kenny says they've been looking forward the novel occasion.
"It has been about three months developing the look and feel of the restaurant.
"It is a little bit different and a little bit exciting -- to do something different and to get made up and get into the '70s vibe... Everything is authentic as we could."
Mr Kenny believes the staff has the capacity to turn a few thousand burgers per hour -- enough to keep the crowds moving and people happy.
"Yeah, we have got a mix of people helping with crowd control, keeping the people moving and keeping the people happy."
McDonald's original menu:
Newshub.
