McDonald's restaurants

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Many McDonald's restaurants exist.

Restaurants

The first McDonald's was not a restaurant at all, but a walk-up hot dog stand. The company's early franchises were built to a standard pattern that did not offer seating; this was in part to prevent loitering. However, the potential of sit-down restaurants was clear from the beginning, and the company switched to a new standard design for sit-down restaurants in 1967, upon which current standalone restaurants are still based. The company introduced the Drive-Thru in 1975, following the lead of competitor Wendy's, rapidly adding it to existing restaurants wherever this was feasible.

However useful the standard design may have been in popularizing McDonald's and making the company's restaurants instantly recognizable, it is not always possible, or appropriate, for all restaurant locations. McDonald's has often faced organized campaigns claiming it would threaten its surroundings, particularly in historic locations. Possibly in an effort for European nations to become more accepting of the McDonald's concept, the second McDonald's in Italy, opened 1986 near the Spanish Steps in Rome, is widely heralded as the most luxurious McDonald's restaurant. It features indoor fountains, marble walls and floors. Other restaurants in similarly sensitive settings have muted décor and blend into existing architecture.

McCafé

The McCafé is a bistro-like restaurant concept by McDonald's Corporation in an effort to gain a share of the ever popular and expanding gourmet coffee market, to avoid losing market share to companies such as Starbucks. With comfortable leather chairs and couches, natural wood accents, and bistro style tables, the ambience is that of a typical modern coffee shop. Dine-in patrons forego the plastic trays and paper wrappers for the more elegant china plates and stainless steel silverware.

The menu boasts the standard bistro fare, including paninis, coffee and espresso drinks, and baked goods and pastries, and all menu items are available for take-out. House coffee blends are sold both normally and in tins for home brewing.

The concept was introduced in Australia in 1993 and has been successful in several other countries, including Ireland, Brazil, Israel, Chile, Panama, New Zealand, Colombia, Guatemala, France, Italy, Singapore, the Philippines and most recently Canada. There are 22 McCafés in Hong Kong. The concept has recently been introduced into the U.S., including a McCafé in Orlando, Florida. The first McCafé in the United States was in Raleigh, NC.

Other interesting restaurants

The title: "World's most beautiful McDonalds" was given to a newly opened McDonalds in Budapest in 1990. The restaurant is located right next to the Nyugati Palyaudvar (Western railway station), and is built in a classical style. The title has not been given to any other McDonalds, but it has been forgotten about. [link]
The northernmost McDonald's restaurant is on the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Finland.
The southernmost franchise is in Punta Arenas, Chile.
The world's easternmost McDonald's is in New Zealand, in the city of Gisborne and the westernmost restaurant is in Samoa, as they are the closest to the International Date Line. Because of this, it is said that "the sun never sets on the Golden Arches", a parody on the old claim "the sun never sets on the British Empire."
The McDonald's with the world's largest McDonald's Playplace is located in Orlando, Florida, USA, off International Drive. It sports two floors, a massive game and arcade area (much like at Chuck E. Cheese's) and a McGourmet section where panini and sundaes are for sale.
The lowest elevation McDonald's is located in the village of Ein Bokek in Israel, near the Dead Sea, at 396 meters (1,300 feet) below sea level.
The highest elevation McDonald's was located in La Paz, Bolivia, at 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level, before it closed in 2002.
The building to host the highest (above ground level) McDonald's restaurant is the KL Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The busiest McDonald's in the United States is (according to the Stamford Advocate newspaper) located in Darien, Connecticut, in a rest area off Interstate 95. The busiest McDonald's in Canada is in Cambridge, Ontario, off of Highway 401 [link].

A McDonald's near Vinita, Oklahoma is situated above Interstate 44, such that it is possible to eat while cars and trucks pass underneath. The Vinita restaurant is said to be the world's largest McDonald's in terms of square footage. The following story appeared in Reader's Digest for June, 2006, p.64: "Driving through Oklahoma, my husband and I went out of our way to stop at what was billed as the largest McDonald's in the world. However, we were less than thrilled when an employee addressed everyone over the intercom, 'Attention, world's largest McDonald's customers...!'"
McDonald's recently won a contract with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority to place restaurants in renovated oases, many of which are located over the tollways. (Prior to the renovations, there had been McDonald's and other chain stores on these overhead oases, which had superceded earlier restaurants, such as the once-plentiful Howard Johnson's, which had been similarly placed over the tollway.)
A former McDonald's in St. Louis, Missouri was a riverboat on the Mississippi River. The restaurant is now closed.
Sälen in Sweden opened the first ski-through McDonald's in the world.
A McDonald's located in East Coast Park in Singapore has a skate-thru, together with the main restaurant.
The McDonald's restaurant in Bray, Republic of Ireland occupies the entire former Town Hall.
In Israel, some McDonald's restaurants are kosher, although most are not; there is also a kosher restaurant in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
In Dearborn, Michigan (where there is a significant Muslim population), there are two McDonald's Restaurant branches which sell halal Chicken McNuggets and McChicken Sandwiches.
In Moscow, Russia, a McDonald's exists that also doubles as a firehouse museum/memorial.
McDonald's sometimes subdues or varies its corporate image to blend in with the local environment. For example, in Sedona, Arizona, a McDonald's has "Green Arches" to fit in with the city's natural look. Similarly, one in Paris has a white McDonald's "M."
The 24th Street & Mission Street Mission District restaurant, San Francisco, California, has a mural inside and on the outside walls. It portrays small children from the neighborhood and was painted by Precita Eyes (a local muralist group) and the neighborhood children the mural displays.
The McDonald's on east Fordham Road near Webster Avenue in the Bronx is considered the birthplace of the Guardian Angels safety patrol. Angels founder Curtis Sliwa was a manager and many of the founding members of the Angels worked there in the late 1970s.
A McDonald's at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is the only store in Cuba (McDonald's is subject to the Cuban embargo). McDonald's fare has been used as a reward for prisoners in the detention camps.
The McDonald's in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, has the largest public art collection in the town and continually showcases art from up and coming artists of the region.
In a McDonald's in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, murals of rolling hills, blue skies and golf greens cover the walls. A neon sign displaying "The Nineteenth Hole" is situated above the counter, referring the tradition of calling the clubhouse or bar on a golf course the "nineteenth hole".
A McDonald's located in the The Pentagon occupies one of the former cafeterias.
The most-visited McDonald's Restaurant in 1986 was located on a large floating boat at the 1986 World's Fair, hosted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The restaurant, nicknamed McBarge, now floats abandoned outside downtown Vancouver.
A McDonald's in New York City, located at 160 Broadway, features a doorman, marble tables, chandeliers, a private dining room with wait staff and silverware, and live music played on a baby grand piano. [link][link]
The McDonald's in Pompei, Italy, located near the ruins of Pompeii, features wall murals depicting Ronald McDonald, Grimace, The Fry Kids and other McDonald's characters wearing togas in a Tuscan landscape.
At a McDonald's in Cairo, Egypt orders are taken at a counter, however trays bearing the meal are brought by staff to customers at their table.
A McDonald's in Portsmouth, England sports a mural of signal flags that spell out 'England expects every man to do his duty', the famous words of Lord Nelson whos flagship resides in Portsmouth.
A McDonald's in Hong Kong, China, features a hostess who directs customers to the shortest line, and clients are expected to leave trays and garbage for the dedicated dining area staff to clear away.
In all McDonald's in Saudi Arabia the term (Hamburger) has been replaced with (Beefburger) as of 2005 due to the confusion of some customers who took the "Ham" in Hamburger to denote pork (although the name is actually derived from Hamburg). Aside from the local specials, Saudi Arabian McDonald's feature many spin-offs to the original menu sandwiches such as a Chicken Big Mac and Spicy McChicken. As it is with all fast food restaurants in Saudi Arabia, the clients are to leave trays and garbage for the dining area staff to clear away.
The restaurant in Tai Wo Estate, Tai Po, Hong Kong is built outside the shopping complex and of house style. There are only 2 such restaurants in Hong Kong. (another is in Heng Fa Chuen, which is the world's 11,000th outlet)
McDonald's O'Connell Bridge in Dublin, Ireland is the only store in the Republic Of Ireland to sell McDonald's Deli Select Sandwiches. They are made to order brown/white bread rolls containing 6 different fillings.

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