McDonald's

[TheFugitive]

That's what they did with my local McDonalds.  Although the store they built is slightly bigger
than the old one.

And likewise they did away with the Playland.  And added a 2nd. lane to the drive-thru.

Interestingly from the décor you'd never know it was a burger joint.
An alien landing in the parking lot, looking at their décor, would assume that this
was some sort of a Farmers Market that sold fancy upscale coffees.

Not a Big Mac nor a Quarter Pounder in sight.

[ynkeesfn82]

On Page 18  of this thread (the first message) there is a picture I took of the exterior of the McDonald's on Queen Street in Southington, CT after their remodel which was finished in 2012. The one in Bristol on Farmington Avenue looks similar. I supposed the new one in Wallingford will look the same unless they have another new look.

[Hudsons81]

On Page 18  of this thread (the first message) there is a picture I took of the exterior of the McDonald's on Queen Street in Southington, CT after their remodel which was finished in 2012. The one in Bristol on Farmington Avenue looks similar. I supposed the new one in Wallingford will look the same unless they have another new look.

McDonald's actually uses several different building types for new and remodeled locations, even though they are all pretty much identical with some slight, but noticeable, differences between each type.

For example, McDonald's remodeled two of their three Lincoln Park, MI stores into similar styles that incorporate a yellow arch above the main facade. A picture of one of these that I took in 2012 is on page 19 of this thread (reply #436, dated April 26, 2013).

On a side note, the McDonald's at Eureka and Richmond in Southgate (the second McDonald's in Michigan) should be whipped up into shape soon. Their last remodel was a decade ago (in which the previous building was replaced with the current one) and the Burger King a few blocks west was recently remodeled last year.

[retailisking]

Don Thompson runs out of time to turn McD's around. I think he did a lot of things right, but it will take years for the changes he made to be reflected at the restaurant level.
http://fortune.com/2015/01/28/mcdonalds-ceo-out/

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Here's a more complete list of McDonald's restaurants that have an exclusive contract with Pepsi-Cola to distribute their soft drinks, instead of the usual Coca-Cola soft drink products:

* Mall of America, Bloomington (Minneapolis/St. Paul), Minnesota
* Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Detroit, Michigan
* Excalibur Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
* Luxor Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
* Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
* University of Maryland-College Park Student Union, College Park, Maryland

[Hudsons81]

* Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Romulus (Detroit), Michigan

Minor correction.

Metro Airport's zip has the same 482 prefix that's used in Detroit proper, but the remainder of Romulus has a zip with the 481 prefix used in most of the Wayne County suburbs.

[ynkeesfn82]

Former West Street McDonald's Southington/Bristol town line directly across the street from the ESPN Campus. Restaurant closed down right before XMAS 08. Recently they covered up everything and painted it white. They also blocked access to the porperty with concrete blocks so I drove down a small unpaved road next to the site to snatch this pic. There's a For lease Sign with a phone number and mentioning 4900 Sq. Feet. The owner of this property must also own the empty lot next to the former restaurant as the empty lot had the same For Lease Sign and phone number.

Okay. This former McD's was two different restaurants that didn't last long. Then someone bought it and spent a lot of money renovating it for an Indian Restaurant and the Indian Restaurant never opened. The City of Bristol Police Department has been using the parking lot for DUI Checkpoints.

Now as of 20015 this former McD's is becoming a Mexican Restaurant. We'll see how long it lasts. They're going before the town of Southington for a liquore permit. 

[ynkeesfn82]

What did they do to the McNuggets? They changed the taste of them. They taste awful now. It used to be one of the only things on their menu that I liked.

[HannafordHearts]

I remember Sears selling the clothing in the late 80s or early 90s.
Most of the Wal Marts in my area have converted their McD's to Dunkin Donuts. Waterford CT is the only one I know of that still has a McD's.

The Walmart in Utica, NY still has a McDonald's:


Oneonta, NY too I believe.

[TheFugitive]

Went thru McD drive-thru at lunch, and it looks like the long rumored menu reduction/simplification
has occurred. 

Although I was saddened to see they had dropped the Southern Style Chicken sandwich from
the menu.  That was a very serviceable Chick-Fil-A knock-off at a much better price.

[BillyGr]

They're also offering the seasonal fish/large fries any combo of 2 for $4 special (OK, it was the $3, then $3.33 special in past years).

[TheFugitive]

They're also offering the seasonal fish/large fries any combo of 2 for $4 special (OK, it was the $3, then $3.33 special in past years).

Arby's and BK are running 2 for $5 Lenten fish specials, and their sandwiches are bigger.  Will have to taste-test all three and report back.

[retailisking]

Colonial-style McDonald's in Yarmouth, Maine (former Deering Ice Cream) closes
http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2015/02/24/yarmouth-mcdonalds-shuts-owner-cites-zoning/226196

[Bdubs]

The town must be really strict for its restaurants. Not allowing a drive through is strange.  They must also have some type of zoning regarding exterior designs. There's no way Mc D's would allow the owner to run a restaurant designed like that, unless the town had some strict regulations.

[BillyGr]

The town must be really strict for its restaurants. Not allowing a drive through is strange.  They must also have some type of zoning regarding exterior designs. There's no way Mc D's would allow the owner to run a restaurant designed like that, unless the town had some strict regulations.

Note that the post above states it was a former Deering Ice Cream location (which to me looks quite like a Friendly's) so assumably the building was existing when McDonalds opened.
Not that there aren't other unusual designed McDonald's as well, some due to local rules and some just the environment they are in (like 2 story locations in New York City and at least one with a walk up window, since in the middle of a block there couldn't be a drive thru).  I don't know how the one at 125th & Broadway snuck in, though - looks just like you picked it up from small town anywhere and plopped it in the middle of the city.

[MikeRa]

The Gallery mall in Center City Philadelphia still has a McDonalds in the food court, even with 7/8 of the Gallery is vacant so tits owners can bring in upscale tenants, like Century 21, which is located in the former Strawbridge & Clothier flagship store.

[HannafordHearts]

Colonial-style McDonald's in Yarmouth, Maine (former Deering Ice Cream) closes
http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2015/02/24/yarmouth-mcdonalds-shuts-owner-cites-zoning/226196

I thought this was a Friendly's at first. XD

[ynkeesfn82]

I didn't know Grimace was still around. I hadn't seen him in years. HOT 96.9 in Boston did a remote broadcast from the Roxbury McD's and posted a picture on their Facebook page and it showed Grimace.

https://www.facebook.com/Hot969Boston/photos/a.719856688058860.1073741829.510688382309026/936148979762962/?type=1&theater

[Ameskid]

This McDonald's in Erlanger, KY is interesting for a number of reasons. In front of the store are large, single-pane glass windows with the old "beveled" McD's logo on them. I haven't seen them anywhere else before. There is no room for a play area.

Retro McDonald's, Erlanger, KY (1) by harvestmanman, on Flickr

It has an interesting painting on a wall behind the restaurant (cars drive around the back to go through the drive-thru)...

Retro McDonald's, Erlanger, KY (2) by harvestmanman, on Flickr

...and it also has some sort of sub-basement.

Retro McDonald's, Erlanger, KY (3) by harvestmanman, on Flickr

[BillyGr]

This McDonald's in Erlanger, KY is interesting for a number of reasons. In front of the store are large, single-pane glass windows with the old "beveled" McD's logo on them. I haven't seen them anywhere else before. There is no room for a play area.
nea
It has an interesting painting on a wall behind the restaurant (cars drive around the back to go through the drive-thru)...

...and it also has some sort of sub-basement.

Based on the design, it has to be an older location - seems that many of them (at least in the cooler areas) were built with basements (after all, the first training area was in the basement of a restaurant out near the HQ).  Also perhaps for extra storage as the property looks to be on the smaller side?
The front windows look like something they might have done to add a little extra space (not much but it might seem like more than with a solid wall) and open up the building at some point.

Also an interesting way to make what would be a boring blank wall a bit more attractive (and not something that most locations would have, unless they also had a need for such a wall).

[jason83080]

The town must be really strict for its restaurants. Not allowing a drive through is strange.  They must also have some type of zoning regarding exterior designs. There's no way Mc D's would allow the owner to run a restaurant designed like that, unless the town had some strict regulations.

It might be a design issue. Here's the McDonald's in Independence, Ohio. IIRC, there's dining on two levels inside:

[BillyGr]

It might be a design issue. Here's the McDonald's in Independence, Ohio. IIRC, there's dining on two levels inside:

Maybe that area has something for these buildings (the town looks to be not too far from Cleveland area).  There is a town called Macedonia, Ohio, which is more or less south of Cleveland.  I think all their stores there were brick buildings, even the Wal-Mart.
http://www.mcohio.com/13668/ - The building is not as fancy as the one above, but there is still some brick as the front of it.

[Hudsons81]

Here is a very interesting McDonald's on Telegraph Road in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The interior of this has a Superman theme.

[jason83080]

It might be a design issue. Here's the McDonald's in Independence, Ohio. IIRC, there's dining on two levels inside:

Maybe that area has something for these buildings (the town looks to be not too far from Cleveland area).  There is a town called Macedonia, Ohio, which is more or less south of Cleveland.  I think all their stores there were brick buildings, even the Wal-Mart.
http://www.mcohio.com/13668/ - The building is not as fancy as the one above, but there is still some brick as the front of it.

That looks a bit like the one in Middleburg Heights, OH. Then again, Middleburg is more of an upscale, "everything must be brick" community, so there's that to consider. Here it is on Google Maps:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/McDonald's/@41.368531,-81.803419,3a,75y,119.28h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sHb9R3ewBy4F5Lp7BMEuW7Q!2e0!4m5!1m2!2m1!1sMcDonald's+middleburg+heights+oh!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0xc613898b59f1126c!6m1!1e1

[ynkeesfn82]

Joe Rodriguez is the new owner of the McDonald's at Townline Square Plaza on South Broad Street in Meriden, CT. It's his 10th McD's restaurant.

From The Meriden Record-Journal Newspaper:

New owner of Meriden McDonald’s has ‘ketchup in his veins’

Published: May 23, 2015 | Last Modified: May 23, 2015 10:54PM
By Mary Ellen Godin Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN â€" Joseph Rodriguez earned the nicknamed Schmear Man because he was good at putting blood on the slides in the laboratory at the New York Institute for Technology.

Rodriguez also worked at a family McDonald’s since age 10, and supported himself with two jobs while in college.

In a lesson about the value of a medical education, a professor asked the class:

“ ‘What do you want to do with the rest of your life: flip burgers at McDonald’s?’ ” Rodriguez recalled.

“I said ‘what’s wrong with that?’”

In his third year of college, Rodriguez considered the years of schooling ahead of him to make a decent living in medicine, versus the skills he had already acquired. In a solid reversal of his professor’s intention; he switched majors and dove headfirst into the burger business.

“I have ketchup in my veins,” he likes to say.

Rodriguez closed on his 10th franchise last month at Townline Square on the Meriden-Wallingford border. He has other McDonald’s operations in Derby, New Haven, West Haven, Canaan, Plainville, Bristol and New Britain.

“I realized I never left McDonald’s,” he said at the Townline Square McDonald’s this week. “ I am a people person. My mission is to have passion for what we do. I decided to go the business route. I went to the McDonald’s Hamburger University in Chicago and got a degree in hamburgerology.”

At the university, Rodriquez studied the food business, dealing with the public, marketing and more.

As Rodriguez acquired restaurants, the McDonald’s brand struggled to redefine its brand to an increasingly health-conscious buying public. It introduced salads, fruits and vegetables, even an artisan chicken sandwich. The restaurants themselves redesigned their interiors with cafe seating and lighting to attract value-conscious laptop users while keeping family-friendly prices. But it’s not certain the strategy is working.

“They certainly are doing a whole lot right now,” said Konrad Gessler, a project manager with the New England Consulting Group of Guilford. “There seems to be a lack of a strong strategy. They are really being squeezed in all directions. It’s tough being a QSR (quick service restaurant) right now. McDonald’s has the opportunity to bounce back, it’s just a very strategically complex time in their industry.”

Gessler said the best advertisement McDonald’s produced romanced the Big Mac with the assurance it would never be a veggie burger.

“It was speaking to what McDonald’s does best,” Gessler said.

To Rodriguez, that means finding its place in the community.

He joined his family in buying a McDonald’s in 1991 near the Bronx Zoo. They held a rodeo event at the restaurant that caught the eye of the McDonald’s corporate office, which offered the family another store in New Haven. The family later decided to sell its New York stores and expand in Connecticut.

Rodriguez bought his first McDonald’s in West Haven in 2000, followed by stores in Derby and the Westville section of New Haven. He underwent renovations in West Haven, and completed three rebuilds in other towns valued at $4.8 million in four years. The New Haven McDonald’s has a game room and meeting space, used by the local Board of Alderman.

McDonald’s corporation helped with some of the financing on the rebuilds.

After the renovations, he bought the McDonald’s in Canaan, and fell in love with the area, he also has restaurants in Bristol, and Plainville. His company headquarters in Southbury is where he oversees the 10 stores, a director of operations, two supervisors, 112 managers and 500 employees. Work weeks are 60 to 80 hours.

Rodriguez believes in strong community connections the same way he thinks about his faith â€" both are essential to success. Rodriguez and his wife Anna adopted their first child in 2007, and Rodriguez became a Christian. Soon after they learned Anna was pregnant with twins. A daughter followed in 2009 and in May 2013, they adopted another child.

“In the Rodriguez family, we try to make it appeal to family,” Rodriguez said. “Our community is family. You have to be able to look at your business and say what do I have to do to cater to my town and my community.”

Rodriguez hosted Three Kings Day parties in New Britain where local politicians, including Mayor Erin Stewart and store executives dress up as the three wise men to dole out toys for local children. More than 1,000 toys were given away.

During National People Day he gave away 480 turkeys to all of his employees.

“It’s a little gesture, but it means a lot,” he said.

He recently recorded a commercial for Telemundo at the Meriden store announcing a special on egg-white McMuffins.

Rodriguez said the egg whites, lettuce and tomato are fresher than what’s in the local grocery store and McDonald’s has stepped up to offer what is healthy.

“It’s great to be able to give people choices,” he said.

With 10 stores, McDonald’s considers him “a large operator,” he said. The cost of franchises vary based on traffic and revenue.

He grins when asked if there are any more deals for more stores in the works.

“I’ll accept whatever the Lord gives me,” he said.

[Hudsons81]

Former Detroit City Council president Monica Conyers is suing the McDonald's at Detroit Metro Airport (perhaps the one I and ShopkoFan mentioned for serving Pepsi?). She visited this location, which is owned by Jamjomar Inc., a franchise primarily owned by former Detroit Lion Jim Thrower, on New Year's Day, just before boarding a flight to watch her husband's swearing into office. During that visit, she cut her finger while pulling a chair back.

http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2015/06/19/news/doc55843bf6034a4926567375.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[JimSawhill]

Colonial-style McDonald's in Yarmouth, Maine (former Deering Ice Cream) closes
http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2015/02/24/yarmouth-mcdonalds-shuts-owner-cites-zoning/226196

When did Deering closed there? growing up I went there a few times..

[Ameskid]

Give this bank in Milford, Ohio credit for doing a VERY nice job of repurposing a former McD's. I almost overlooked it at first, but those telltale boxes beneath the windows gave it away...

Former McDonald's, Milford, OH by Harvestman Man, on Flickr
Former McDonald's, Milford, OH by Harvestman Man, on Flickr

[Hudsons81]

Decided to go to the one in Wyandotte, Michigan this morning...only to be greeted with papers saying "closed due to flooding" posted over the drive-thru screens and on the doors.

Never even expected that.

[Hudsons81]

McDonald's started serving all-day breakfast today.

http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2015/10/06/news/doc5613cf3c29da1039858145.txt