McDonald's Toys With the Idea of Table Service

... but why?

Hundreds of McDonald's locations in California are about to get ever-so-slightly fancier. No, they won't be offering cloth napkins or crystal goblets for your Diet Coke — instead, they're implementing a more fast-casual style of table service.

The new service model, which was just rolled out in 600 Southern California stores, means that customers will still place their orders at the counter as they've always done, explains the Los Angeles Business Journal; but then, instead of hanging around waiting, they'll have a seat and wait for an employee to bring their Big Mac and fries to them.

But why is a company whose business model has always hinged on speed and efficiency — you know, fast food — futzing around with an expanded service model? McDonald's did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Fortune says it's part of McDonald's efforts to "compete with higher-end burger upstarts like Five Guys and Shake Shack," a theory further supported by the chain's recent introduction of premium build-your-own burgers and chicken sandwiches to 2,000 outlets. The pseudo-artisan "ChefCrafted" burgers can be customized with premium toppings like maple bacon and blue cheese, and along with that come a heftier pricetag and longer wait times. (It's just the latest of numerous attempts to take on higher-brow burger offerings: There's also the recently introduced "Create Your Taste" touch-screen kiosks.)

It all adds up to a picture of one very confused restaurant chain: While the company recently trimmed down its drive-thru menus to speed up service and improve customer experience, it continues to complicate things with a steady stream of new implementations like all-day breakfast and the aforementioned bespoke burgers. While McDonald's may still be figuring out what the heck it wants to be when it grows up, sales are at least headed in the right direction: In October the chain reported an increase in sales for the first time since 2013.

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