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This Oughta Be Good

Travel > Viva Macdonald's
 

Viva Macdonald's

But when it gets down to it, the food is the same old same old.

Viva McDonald's -- set to open at 11 a.m. Thursday at 2896 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nevada -- will serve McDonald's food, which, however you slice it, is undeniably fast food. But customers will eat it in an environment that feels like anything but ... well, a McDonald's.



Borrowing from the contemporary stylings of Starbucks and the ever-growing counter-service restaurant industry, Viva McDonald's has unexpected design accents including faux-leather easy chairs and saucer chairs, pendant lighting, framed artwork, textured walls, sliding louvered structures on the windows, electrical outlets for plugging in your laptop and wireless Internet access (for a fee, although the company promises that coupons for free access will be frequently available).

The centerpiece is a large oval communal table crowned by a ring of 14 video screens that will debut McDonald's Channel, carrying content from the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet and the Science Channel. There also are four large screens on the front exterior of the building -- which can be used separately or in synchronization -- and another atop the tall outdoor sign.

The restaurant is almost monumental in scale at 8,600 square feet, compared to 4,000 to 5,000 square feet for an average McDonald's, and has two cooking lines, compared to one in the vast majority of the company's outlets across the country, said Steve Ballard, senior area supervisor.

The design elements and size are part of the plan to make Viva McDonald's a destination, "not just a place to get a Big Mac." In the same way that visitors to Las Vegas feel compelled to see the Fountains at Bellagio, he said, the company wants them to feel a need to visit Viva McDonald's.

From today's Las Vegas Review-Journal.

posted on Dec 10, 2008 2:46 PM ()

Comments:

I happen to be one who likes a "quick fix" of junk food at times. Not often, but a trip through a drive through window to grab a quick burger and fries while flying from one destination to another when there won't be a meal to eat otherwise is a wonderful "quick fix" for me. Also, many of the highway rest stops only offer fast food counters, even if they offer more than one choice they are still within the fast food category...without wanting to detour off the highway when trying to make some time on a long trip, these stops are convenient and don't take up much time. But, to me, there is no reason to "glamorize" any such places, such as this example of what McDonald's is doing. I hope people really never believed and still don't believe that McDonald's or any similar place was ever supposed to be a true dining experience on any level.
comment by donnamarie on Dec 15, 2008 5:42 AM ()
The whole "fast food" industry sickens me (although I confess to Whopper cravings). But the ultimate insult to our intelligence and figurative taste is (as I've mentioned before) the Wendy's commercial saying "It's waaaaay better than fast food." GRRRRRR.
comment by solitaire on Dec 14, 2008 7:33 AM ()
They can dress it up all they like...it's still the same crappy "food" with dubious preparation and careless service.
comment by looserobes on Dec 11, 2008 7:09 AM ()
On our trip to Virginia a couple of years ago, we stayed in a low-end motel because it took pets and we had Brunswick along. The only eating place nearby was a MacDonald's. I got a salad. How can you screw salad? They did it. It was horrid. I ate the lettuce -- that was it.
comment by tealstar on Dec 10, 2008 5:31 PM ()
Your not going to believe this.Never ate at McDonald or any other
Junk food place.No reason to.
Sounds boring.What can I say.
comment by fredo on Dec 10, 2008 3:02 PM ()
I doubt if I will ever feel the need to visit. If I have to eat fast food, Arbys is my choice. The surroundings don't matter.
comment by elderjane on Dec 10, 2008 2:58 PM ()

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