McDonalds reopens for business

Eighty-six days ago, McDonalds, located at 280 Court Street off of Route 7, closed for renovation. Many were dismayed: the infamous late-night Big Mac and fries were no longer available to Middlebury students. Students can now rest easy, however, because McDonalds is up and running again.
“It was a good time to renovate because the restaurant was close to 30 years old,” said Charlie Coflin, owner of the famous yellow-arched fast food joint.
The Middlebury Development Review Board had several hearings before granting McDonalds a zoning and building permit. While the restaurant’s square footage did not increase substantially, McDonalds boasts a myriad of other upgrades.
“They wanted the restaurant to be more energy efficient and accessible to customers,” said Ted Dunakin, the development review board administrator, who works in the Planning and Zoning offices.
McDonald’s now has a new sign and the architecture, both inside and outside, has been updated. There is also a “double queue” drive-thru. Data collected during the initial planning phase found that the new drive thru would serve up to 150 cars per hour, while the old one could only help 75 vehicles in the same time. Coflin believes the drive-thru layout is more efficient because two people can order at the same time.
The chain opened on Thurs, Oct. 28, and with 38 parking spots and 112 seats, McDonald’s is ready for business.
“We have had positive remarks so far,” said Coflin. “People missed us.”
On Thursday morning, people started lining up outside McDonalds at 3:00 a.m., and Coflin said when he arrived at the restaurant at 6:30 a.m., there were 200 people waiting to order.
With new seating and an open layout, Coflin is proud of the new “contemporary” feel of the fast food joint.