McDonalds?

[pakoo.livejournal.com]

Does anyone know what is going into the McDonalds location?  (Or why it closed down?)  thanks-

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

i admit i haven't the foggiest. but i would imagine the serious competition in the five-dollar-meal category around here (dunkins with its many faithful, anna's serving real food, doowee and rice an under-ten-minute walk away) might have something to do with it.

[braces for the "you're a yuppie/hippie/hipster/middle-aged-destroyer-of-community backlash ;) ]

[smammy]

…anna's serving real food…

Oh, hush, you. It's all real food.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

I was unaware it was closing? My boyfriend was just there on Weds.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

They dismantled it incredibly quickly. There on Wednesday, papered over with a "closed" as of Thursday, and no remaining indications that it was ever a McDonald's today.

[enveri.livejournal.com]

Wow. O.O

I'm amazed they didn't have a 'Closing' sign or something up.

[ron_newman]

There's a paper sign inside the door thanking customers for their patronage, and directing them to other locations at Meadow Glen and Fresh Pond.

I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. I never saw many customers inside, making quite a contrast with the long lines and full tables at Anna's Tacqueria across the street.

[pryder]

It was always empty when I went by as well. Guess it just wasn't what the people of Davis Square were looking for. Directing the customers to Meadow Glen and Fresh Pond is rather clueless though, given how many of the people in Davis are T-bound and unlikely to go to those T-unfriendly locations. Central Square would be closer to the mark if anybody really had the longing to visit Mickey D's.

[ron_newman]

Probably the sign directs people to other McD's that are owned by the same franchisee. (And if you have a bike, Fresh Pond is a much more pleasant trip, through Danehy Park, than Central Square is.)

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Oddly, the "please visit our other locations" sign doesn't mention the word "McDonald's".

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Man, those always crack me up. "Thank for your patronage at this convenient location. Please visit us miles away." The near-Porter bike shop that moved to Concord takes the cake for that, though.

[blondeamazon.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is fast. I was just int he square Wednesday and it was open...

[achinhibitor.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the lease expired at the end of October, so they had to be out.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

Mmmm... how about another BEER place so the "young people" can get their drink on.

Ha. Ha.

[thedonk.livejournal.com]

I do wonder how this will affect threats that if Proposed Business X isn't embraced by the community with open arms the landlord will just lease Space X to Fast Food Conglomerate X.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

I know, I know! Another froyo place!

::ducks::

[vanguardcdk.livejournal.com]

Now we can finally get an Arbys!

[ron_newman]

This is the second time McDonald's has closed a location in Davis Square. They used to have one around where the Burren and Family Dollar are now.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

As in, they moved 2 doors down?

[ron_newman]

One door down, actually. The first McDonald's was where Family Dollar is today. But several years went by between when that closed and the 'new' one opened.

Here's a photo of pre-gentrification Davis Square, showing FFC and McDonald's where The Burren and Family Dollar are now. You are looking up Chester Street towards Elm. I wish I knew who took this photo, and when.

[thedonk.livejournal.com]

I believe that photo was taken by Ron Bargoot, and I'm almost certain he posted it to the "Somerville the Good Old Days" page on Facebook. I think he dated it around 1978.

The first McDonalds (which had a legendary indoor playground in the back - huge McDonaldland character climbing structures on a concrete floor) closed in the early 90s (maybe very late 80s?), soon after Papa Gino's opened in what used to be Brigham's and is now Starbucks. The new(ly closed) one opened in the very late 90s, I think.

[ron_newman]

Thanks for the photo credit. Except for Apple-a-Day where Dunkin Donuts is today, the photo could have been taken any time up to the early 90s.

I always wondered what the words 'Town House' on the McDonalds sign referred to. Any idea?

[thedonk.livejournal.com]

It was fancy 70s-speak for a McDonalds that didn't have parking:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1299&dat=19720810&id=EeNLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NIwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6286,631609

[scott gunther (from livejournal.com)]

Do you know if the "somerville the good old days" page still exists somewhere? I couldn't find it on facebook. Thanks!

[ron_newman]

It is still where it has always been. You may also want to look at Views of Historic Somerville Massachusetts.

[scott gunther (from livejournal.com)]

Great picture! Do you (or anyone else) have other old pictures of Davis Square to share?

[ron_newman]

It's not my photo.

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

In other news, I haven't seen it posted anywhere, but The Broken Yolk, the cute little breakfasty place in Powderhouse (on the Davis side of College Ave.) closed a week or two ago. In its place is going a Mediterranean themed venue--I think the name is something like Noor?

I never was able to eat at the Broken Yolk but it looked cheerful and always had a savory sounding specials board I would admire as the 96 bus carried me past it in the morning.

[mooshjan.livejournal.com]

I liked the Broken Yolk's food, but it always seemed a bit to expensive and slow for a small breakfast place.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Someone did post about this a bit ago, if you check out the closed businesses tag.

[ron_newman]

Posted three weeks ago right here: Broken Yolk space in Powderhouse

[pch1.livejournal.com]

Way back in the day we used to joke that Davis Square was so bad that it couldn't even support a McDonalds, now it's become so cool it wouldn't even support a McDonalds...

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

While I'm no fan of McDonald's it is a bit sad for all the elderly folks that went there for breakfast. I doubt that they will be going to Anna's for a breakfast burrito.

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

Does Anna's do breakfast burritos? Haven't been there in a while.

[ron_newman]

Yes, but they now open at 8 am 9 am, according to their website (used to be 7 am)

[david russo (from livejournal.com)]

To put the rumors all to an end the McDonald's in Davis Square was close because, yes, the lease was up. We had no plans to renew the lease do to the lack of sales. They weren't too bad but due to the commodity prices and the cost to actually run a business it really wasn't worth it in the end to extend or renew the lease. We do have a heart for all the seniors who frequent the restaurant some on a daily basis. We mentioned on the sign on the front door about the other two locations because, yes again, those two stores are in our franchise as well.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

If the local political situation would have allowed you to be open late night, you would have really raked it in after the bars close.

[ron_newman]

But now your Meadow Glen location is closed as well.