Montana Teens Might Soon Need ID to Eat at McD’s

McDonald’s in Virginia has introduced a new policy that is getting a lot of attention and likely elevating blood pressure. McD's is banning anyone under 21 from eating at the restaurant. Yep, you read that right. With a few exceptions, teenagers and young adults can still order food, so long as they don’t mind take-out. Because they cannot dine in. Not without ID.

Evidently, this was after a series of fights, vandalism, and the usual havoc caused by teens. So they have this doorbell system now, and you have to show your driver’s license just to eat indoors. It applies only Monday through Friday for the moment, but who are we kidding? This kind of thing could catch on.

Which brings us to Montana. Might this sort of rule ever make an appearance here?

Let’s not kid ourselves that our McDonald’s are teenager-free zones. You’ve seen it. Gangs of teenagers with after-school munchies, TikTok energy, and the power to turn a booth into a mosh pit. I used to be one of them. Not to date myself, but I remember how rowdy the lunch rush was on Wednesdays when McD's was cranking out $.25 hamburgers in the late 90s.

McDonald’s restaurants are largely franchised, so to some extent, they can set their own rules. And if enough trouble rears its head, it isn’t beyond the pale that a place like Montana might pilot something along these lines, particularly in the more plugged-in cities.

Now don’t panic. There’s no word of it happening here yet, but it’s a space to watch. Once a big chain sees something work in one area, such as reduced stress, reduced turnover, or less drama, they’re known to just hit copy and paste

So if you’re under 21 and partial to those indoor McNugget sessions, have at it. And if you’re older than 21, congratulations, you might be able to eat a Quarter Pounder without hearing someone scream, “Yo, bro, hold my phone,” before beginning a hallway slap-boxing session.