McDonald’s to Spend Billions to Upgrade Restaurants

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published
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McDonald’s to Spend Billions to Upgrade Restaurants

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McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) does not like its own restaurants anymore. It will spend billions of dollars to change thousands of them. And the effort is a community service to the extent that it will “impact” economies in several states by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The figure McDonald’s will invest totals $6 billion, and the money will be used to upgrade most of its U.S. stores. Many of its franchisees also will make investments as part of the $6 billion number. The work will be done this year and next. The effort is supposed to be completed by 2020.

McDonald’s spelled out the improvements in a press release, which most consumers will not be able to understand. The fast-food giant will:

Modernized dining rooms with globally and locally inspired décor, new furniture and refreshed exterior designs

Enhanced customer experience with digital self-order kiosks that make ordering and paying for a meal easier. Kiosks empower guests to browse the menu, find options and tailor their meal just the way they want.

Remodeled counters allow for new table service that offers guests the opportunity to relax while their food is being made

Bright and easy to read digital menu boards inside and at the drive through

New designated parking spots for curbside pick-up through mobile order and pay

Expanded McCafé counters and larger display cases

Maybe millions of customers complained about the way current locations are set up.

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In terms of what the upgrades are worth state by state, the impact will be extensive. In California, for example, the impact will be $390 million, as it upgrades 550 restaurants. In Florida, it will be $186 million, due to upgrades of 240 restaurants. In total, McDonald’s described the effects in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

Will the upgrades bring in more customers or get those who show up to spend more? The $6 billion is a lot of money to find out.

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Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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