Biggest McDonald’s ever set to open in London for Summer Olympics
McDonald’s will kick off the Summer Olympics in London with a major gesture: Opening its largest restaurant ever.
There will be two stories taking up more than 32,000 square feet. The 1,500 customers that can sit inside and on the balcony will be served by 500 employees. There will be burgers, fries and chicken nuggets, but also porridge at breakfast, wraps and salads, a new fruit juice drink called Fruitizz and sustainably sourced tea and coffee served with local organic milk.
The burger giant is the official restaurant of the Games, which start next month. The Olympic Park mega-eatery, which McDonald’s revealed in a preview this week, is one of four the chain will operate during the events.
But none of them will be permanent. McDonald’s will dismantle the locations after six weeks, sending most of the furniture and equipment to be recycled or reused in its other restaurants.
Keeping with the theme of sustainability set by Olympics organizers, most of the garbage created at the McDonald’s super structure will be recycled. The kitchen gadgets will use energy efficiently; the design will also feature water-saving mechanisms. All of the cooking oil used will be recycled into a bio-diesel blend that will fuel more than half of McDonald’s delivery trucks in the country.
McDonald’s will also be showcasing its customer service, with 20 cash registers as well as indoor express lanes staffed with employees with handheld order-taking devices. Contact-less payment is also an option.
The chain, which has more than 33,000 restaurants worldwide, has been lambasted for its involvement with the Games by health advocates. They contend the partnership sends a poor signal during a celebration of athleticism held in a country with a booming obesity problem.
RELATED:
McDonald’s, with best score yet, still ranks last in survey
McDonald’s: Big changes afoot; kids’ marketing proposal fails
McDonald’s can keep selling Happy Meals with toys in California
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
