Six decades ago, Fritz Casper opened the first McDonald's in Florida, and by 2018, the Caspers Company had 60 restaurants across Tampa and Jacksonville. However, on October 1, Caspers will sell the franchises back to McDonald's as a part of McDonald's plan to buy back restaurants and bring in new franchisees under a program aimed at diversifying restaurant ownership.

Restaurant Business reports that a McDonald’s restaurant's value is at a record high with its sale price being seen at "ten times EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization)." However, in April 2022, a survey of franchisee sentiment conducted by Kalinowski Equity Research showed that on a scale of 1 to 5, franchisees felt that their relationship with McDonald's was at 1.19.

A number of the franchisees spoke up, with one mentioning a new McDonald's company rule and grousing, "I have NEVER seen operator morale so low. The new inspections will hurt sales badly. Now is not the right time for this because we are already badly understaffed […] McDonald's doesn't care about the Operators, it's a 'my way or the highway' theme for them."

Another responded to how McDonald's is changing franchise policies and said, "McDonald's has made it crystal clear that they no longer want or need veteran owners, who built the system and ensured our successes." A third noted, "Our corporate 'partner' will make a lot of money this year. Their franchisees? Not so much."