Mcdonalds Eyebrow Remodel

[Brian Lutz]

McDonald's has been particularly aggressive about remodeling their restaurants around here, but in general Wendy's has kept the exteriors of their older restaurants mostly untouched while remodeling the interiors (in some cases even retaining the old logo on the building signage but changing the parking lot sign.) Old McDonald's buildings tend not to get reused very often, but every once in a while you'll see an older KFC or an older Burger King that got repurposed into something else with little modification (Here is one example of a former KFC in Everett.) Occasionally you can even still find an older KFC that mostly keeps the older style (like this one in Redmond.)

[cjd]

The only fast food places here I can think of that haven't remodeled or rebuilt are one DQ and the Wendy's.

The Wendy's was built in the early/mid 2000s and has never had a remodel. Even the signage is all the old logo. They did recently remove the railings in front of the counter, and added a Freestyle machine. Before that the soda machine was still in the front counter.

The DQ is a 70s location that has changed little in the last 40+ years. It did have an interior redo at some point in the late 2000s, but behind the counter it still looks pretty original.

In the town south of me there used to be one of those old 70s KFC with the red and white roof and cupola. It never got a redo, but it just looked run down and had both poor service and food. It shut down a few years ago, was demolished, replaced by an O'Reilly's. The KFC in my town is from the late 90s and semi decent, not kept up to McD's or BK standards though. They aren't a major player here. They're missing in a lot of towns, having closed down in the last 10 years or so in some.

[retailfanmitchell019]

The last mansard roof McDonalds I know about was in Susanville, CA. But sometime in the past year, even it finally got remodeled. Single unit franchisee who seemed to do a good job delaying the mandatory remodel.

There was also a half mansard roof one in Burney, CA. It may have also been remodeled in the past few years. That one was built in the 90's. Low performing location.

There is still a mansard McDonald's operating in Vista, CA.

[Brian Lutz]

I believe there is still 1 Mansard roof McDonald's in Redmond (still shows on street view as of September 2021), although there's a big playplace in the front of it that obscures most of the roof. In particular, some of the really old locations which had a basement under the kitchen (that was used for things like storage and the employee breakroom) have been torn down and replaced with new construction, as this particular restaurant design is now considered to be very inefficient. Newer designs that don't have that basement generally get interior and exterior remodels.

Woodinville has one as well, although there is a fair bit of extra decoration on the building (presumably to make it fit into the whole "Wine Country" theme that Woodinville seems to go for.)

[ClownLoach]

The Mansard roof one in Long Beach on Anaheim St. Is no longer - it is being remodeled right now into what I would just call an ugly tall gray box that looks like it is wrapped in cheap vinyl siding that was on clearance somewhere. Looks terrible compared to the old format and I don't think the last few weeks of construction are going to extract any attractive detail out of it. This store had the tile roof converted to metal a few decades ago but otherwise was the standard older Mansard roof.

[Alpha8472]

There was a Kmart and McDonald's near me that both had the classic 70s look. They were both iconic with the classic Kmart exterior and the Mansard McDonald's in the parking lot. Then Kmart closed around 2012. The McDonald's lost a ton of business and later on closed. A new McDonald's replaced it down the street. However, the new McDonald's was smaller and had a drive thru that could not handle the volume of customers. The cars back up onto the street from the small parking lot. The old restaurant's drive thru was a single lane, but it was long enough to handle an unlimited number of cars. The cars would simply take up space in the huge Kmart parking lot. The interior of the restaurant could handle about a hundred customers and there was an outdoor playground as well. The new McDonald's had no playground and could only handle a small number of dine in customers. In this case, the new McDonald's was a downgrade in every way. The Mansard roofed McDonald's was a fun place to visit. The kids would play and the parents could watch them through the windows. The classic decor was very retro and nostalgic. This McDonald's was in the perfect location. Kmart on one side and Toys R Us was on the other.

I had a classic Mansard McDonald's as a toy when I was a child. It was passed on to me from my sisters. It was a huge scale model of a Mansard McDonald's. I wonder where it went.

[TW-Upstate NY]

None left around here at least operating as a McDonald's but a very well preserved Mansard Roof building in Gloversville is now an Italian restaurant. Interior has been altered a lot over the years but the exterior, aside from a few modifications, is very recognizable. Fortunately, McDonald's was long gone before they had a chance to paint over the brick so that's all still there too just like it was when it opened in the early 70's. To me, the Mansard Roof style is equal to the A+P Centennial design in the way it defined the company for a long while.

[retailfanmitchell019]

Woodinville has one as well, although there is a fair bit of extra decoration on the building (presumably to make it fit into the whole "Wine Country" theme that Woodinville seems to go for.)

Looking at exteriors of stores in Woodinville, looks to be a "Northwest Farmhouse" theme.

[TW-Upstate NY]

Woodinville has one as well, although there is a fair bit of extra decoration on the building (presumably to make it fit into the whole "Wine Country" theme that Woodinville seems to go for.)

Looking at exteriors of stores in Woodinville, looks to be a "Northwest Farmhouse" theme.

Kind of off topic but in that small strip center right next to this McDonalds was that Mexican restaurant something else previously? The front entrance of the building looks like it was added at some point and it actually appears to go a long ways back. Just wondering if it may have possibly been a supermarket of some sort.

[Brian Lutz]

Don't know much about that part of Woodinville, but I believe that restaurant has been there for quite a long time. In the shopping center across the street from there is a former Albertsons store (which is now an Ulta Beauty) but Woodinville doesn't really have much in the way of grocery stores. A former QFC is now a Value Village and a Dollar Tree, and aside from a Costco between Highway 9 and 522 the only dedicated grocery store within Woodinville city limits is a single Haggen (there's a Safeway about 2 miles east of town in the Cottage Lake area, but that's outside city limits.) I assume most people in Woodinville would do their shopping either in Bothell or Kirkland.