McDonalds and re-opening inside

[storewanderer]

I am noticing here in NV (Reno/Carson City/Minden) the McDonalds dine-in areas are remaining closed at a number of locations a week after they were allowed to re-open. To-go has also been kept closed at these locations.

Now, I am observing these locations in the afternoon or at dinner. I wonder if they are opening the inside but for very limited hours like only breakfast/lunch.

I am wondering if the fast food business in general may be getting ready to ditch dine in at a lot of locations...

[cjd]

I just looked at a website and McDonald's said they are beginning to open in some communities. I think with the chains, it has a lot more to do with corporate than whether the local or state ordinances are allowing dine in. I am not sure which restaurants here are open for dine in (and Google is not accurate since it shows none as allowing dine in, while I know for a fact some are.) I heard Burger King was open.

I don't feel comfortable eating inside a restaurant at the moment so I haven't tried to. Hopefully in a few months that will change.

Wendy's here I'm not sure about because I usually see a couple cars in the parking lot (and not on the employee side) yet I don't see anyone through the windows.

It seems like fast casual places like Olive Garden were in more of a hurry to reopen dining rooms than the fast food places.

[storewanderer]

I notice that too. The fast casual chains were super fast to re-open. Many of them were already open for take out orders anyway so calling some servers and a few more cooks back to work probably wasn't a huge undertaking. It seems like a lot of their food is frozen so there was probably plenty of that backed up in storage from when they closed the first time.

[BillyGr]

I just looked at a website and McDonald's said they are beginning to open in some communities. I think with the chains, it has a lot more to do with corporate than whether the local or state ordinances are allowing dine in.

Might also depend on which ones are run by the companies vs. ones run by franchisees as to who is making the decisions on opening?

It seems like fast casual places like Olive Garden were in more of a hurry to reopen dining rooms than the fast food places.

I notice that too. The fast casual chains were super fast to re-open. Many of them were already open for take out orders anyway so calling some servers and a few more cooks back to work probably wasn't a huge undertaking. It seems like a lot of their food is frozen so there was probably plenty of that backed up in storage from when they closed the first time.

Also probably makes sense, since most of those chains weren't as much on the takeout side as the fast food places before this, so they are likely to gain more by offering dining in the restaurant than a fast food chain would.

[Alpha8472]

Everything has changed again. Now many McDonald's are going back to drive thru only. Take out is closed, and they are boarding up the windows. They do not want to let anyone inside. No one wants to take a chance with looters and robbers.

I think it is a good time for restaurants to switch to bullet proof drive thru windows. They can have the pass through plexiglass box for food.

In the future, we may see a whole new design for McDonald's restaurants. There will be no windows. Windows can be broken and the restaurants looted. We will see concrete block style McDonald's with a bullet proof drive thru. The front door will look like a bank with a bullet proof entrance vestibule with a metal detector. I can see smaller McDonald's. They will focus on drive thru with no indoor dining. They could have some concrete tables outside, but no interior dining area.

[BillyGr]

Everything has changed again. Now many McDonald's are going back to drive thru only. Take out is closed, and they are boarding up the windows. They do not want to let anyone inside. No one wants to take a chance with looters and robbers.

I think it is a good time for restaurants to switch to bullet proof drive thru windows. They can have the pass through plexiglass box for food.

In the future, we may see a whole new design for McDonald's restaurants. There will be no windows. Windows can be broken and the restaurants looted. We will see concrete block style McDonald's with a bullet proof drive thru. The front door will look like a bank with a bullet proof entrance vestibule with a metal detector. I can see smaller McDonald's. They will focus on drive thru with no indoor dining. They could have some concrete tables outside, but no interior dining area.

It makes some sense at this time, but not necessarily something that will be required indefinitely (just like the temporary changes that have happened with the virus). Maybe in a few select locations that always have problems, but it doesn't seem it would be needed in most places.

[cjd]

Everything has changed again. Now many McDonald's are going back to drive thru only. Take out is closed, and they are boarding up the windows. They do not want to let anyone inside. No one wants to take a chance with looters and robbers.

I think it is a good time for restaurants to switch to bullet proof drive thru windows. They can have the pass through plexiglass box for food.

In the future, we may see a whole new design for McDonald's restaurants. There will be no windows. Windows can be broken and the restaurants looted. We will see concrete block style McDonald's with a bullet proof drive thru. The front door will look like a bank with a bullet proof entrance vestibule with a metal detector. I can see smaller McDonald's. They will focus on drive thru with no indoor dining. They could have some concrete tables outside, but no interior dining area.

It makes some sense at this time, but not necessarily something that will be required indefinitely (just like the temporary changes that have happened with the virus). Maybe in a few select locations that always have problems, but it doesn't seem it would be needed in most places.

I agree, rioting and looting don't last forever. If that's the case we would have had restaurants with all of those things since the 1960s, heck even the 1700s, if there had been McDonald's back then.

[pseudo3d]

Less than a year before the riots (and COVID) began, Minneapolis actually prohibited drive-throughs in new construction, citing vague health and environmental reasons. Guess we'll see that repealed soon.

[storewanderer]

Less than a year before the riots (and COVID) began, Minneapolis actually prohibited drive-throughs in new construction, citing vague health and environmental reasons. Guess we'll see that repealed soon.

Many big cities and tourist ski towns prohibited drive throughs for dubious "environmental" reasons. Really, it was all about the money and had nothing to do with the environment. Like a number of (not all...) environmental initiatives, primarily just a way for someone with an activist position to make more money and really has nothing to do with the environment.

They can still prohibit drive throughs and keep customers outside only. They can install walk up windows with the food delivered through a pass through drawer (like a bank drive through window or a gas station kiosk). I guess if someone is hungry enough they will go there.

I would argue drive throughs are a bit of a waste of space in big cities where real estate is prime and difficult to come by. You also run into the issue of a drive through on too small of a lot, and cars pouring out of the thing into the roadways creating traffic jams on already tight streets.

I can see how people may not want to build a drive through when they could instead build 20 floors with a few apartments each in that space and make a lot more money. I think this is the real reason you see drive throughs banned in cities. The developers can make more money developing something other than a drive through on that land. The city can get more property tax having something other than a drive through on that land. And on the side they can say that fewer cars will be idling and that helps the environment.

[veteran+]

In the Palm Springs area the drive thru debate has gone on for years.

Not by activists, not primarily by environmentalist and not by profiteers.

Sometimes communities just don't want that kind of look.