Chain Leader

David Farkas

A New McDonald's Doesn't Live Up to Hype
December 20, 2007

“Oh no,” a woman with thickly braided hair is telling me, “you don’t want to come here after 2 p.m. That’s a nasty crew.”

Well, thanks for the advice. I wasn’t planning to, in any case.

But I had to drop by this particular McDonald’s unit on a recent morning because an older unit was razed on the very same spot to make way for the brand new building. The giant fast-feeder debuted the design in 2006 and it has finally made its way to Cleveland’s inner city. The restaurant, which opened two weeks ago, is a block away from decades-old projects.

The new unitss, when built ground up, reportedly run about $1 million--pricey for a fast-food emporium. For all that dough, it’s a bland piece of design, featuring faux granite trim, light-weight chairs and a few framed wall-hangings. The noise from two flat-screen TVs, tuned to a news station, reminded me of an airport gate area.

McDonald’s McSkillet Burrito, a new breakfast item, like most food here, is mostly texture, little taste. That was also surprising because the kitchen stuffs half a dozen ingredients, including salsa, inside a flour tortilla (dull tasting in and of itself).

You can’t beat the price, though: $3.89 for the burrito, hash browns and a small coffee. That’s about what you pay for a medium-sized latte at Starbucks.

In short, it’s still a McDonald’s experience here: same cheerful workers in red shirts and black pants, same speed of delivery, same busy crew.

At least in the morning.

Posted by David Farkas on December 20, 2007 | Comments (2)