Hillsboro residents accustomed to going to McDonald’s may experience a temporary disruption in their culinary routine as the longstanding building that houses the Hillsboro location closed this week, with the building set to be demolished shortly thereafter.
But owner/operator Leigh Chamness, chief executive officer of Ison Family Restaurants, said not to worry. There are plans in place to build back a new and improved modernized iteration of the Hillsboro McDonald’s that addresses and improves oft cited problems such as drive-thru congestion, while preserving other amenities such as the playplace, even during an era where the classic children’s indoor playground is waning in popularity.
Chamness, who has a degree in industrial engineering and an extensive resume in restaurant franchise experience, described in detail the plans for the location.
“We are closing” but the closure is “only temporary” and “we’ll be open again in 90-120 days,” she said.
She said that Wednesday was their last day prior to the commencement of demolition and subsequent reconstruction.
Thursday, “We start removing all the equipment and getting everything out of there, and then Monday the demo team will be there to take the entire building down,” Chamness said.
She explained that the new McDonald’s will be rebuilt on the same location and that it will be a state-of-the-art McDonald’s.
“There will be a playplace returning,”, Chamness said, adding that it will be “the latest and greatest custom-built for our space.”
In addition to the nod to the storied chain’s past of playplace prevalence, Chamness noted that part of the renovation updates will encompass accommodating contemporary tendencies toward consumers ordering items to be delivered and on apps.
“We’re going to have the latest and greatest delivery platform,” Chamness said.
She acknowledged the need to accommodate increasing drive-thru access and assured that, “We’re going to have the latest and greatest drive-thrus.” She said there will be multiple drive-thru lanes in the new facility to accommodate modern demand.
“We can get wrapped pretty quickly into the road,” Chamness said, citing familiarity with the drive-thru traffic congestion. The new system “will allow us to take twice as many orders so that people can get back to their lives as quickly as possible.”
Chamness said that the changes and updates won’t be merely functional. “The cool thing is that we’re going with a new décor package that no other restaurant in Cincinnati has,” she said. “The crew and managers” selected the new aesthetic for the restaurant.
Local social media groups have been abuzz with speculation about what will happen to the frequently visited location.
Chamness explained that the planned updates are necessary. She said the building is, “the original, built in the seventies,” and that “it needs an overhaul pretty badly.”
Chamness said the updates will include the latest and best equipment and that “we should be better and fresher and faster and a better McDonald’s all the way around.”
In the meantime, she said, existing staff members have been offered jobs at area McDonald’s in Blanchester or Wilmington while the renovations are being completed.
Juliane Cartaino is a stringer for The Times-Gazette.
