After two previous delays, the McDonalds on Watson finally closed on April 1 and workers quickly began the process of emptying the building and preparing it for demolition.
The owners had previously planned this work back in early 2019. They went through the approval process for their site plans and conditional use permits, but later decided to wait. They again went through the same process again in 2020 but were again delayed. This time they requested (and received) and timeline extension and work has now begun.
This will be the 3rd McDonald’s building at this site since the first opened on August 30, 1958. That building was the first McDonald’s in Missouri and didn’t have indoor dining or a drive thru. Customers parked, walked in to order, and walked back to their cars with burgers and fries. We often do the same today, but just stay in the car. The original building was demolished, and the current building was built back in the 70’s.
A bit of trivia… The picture above of rock stars Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth was taken back in 1978. Apparently, they were visiting KSHE radio station for an interview and stopped for some burgers (and a picture) at this McDonalds. The photographer later recalled that this was taken outside of Detroit, but some sleuthy local historians (including Ward 4 Alderman John Sebben) were able to identify the landmarks in the photo (such as the SITE gas station) by using old phone books and addresses to confirm it was Crestwood. You can learn more about this story HERE
The new design will place the building closer to Watson and will resemble the McDonalds at 5904 S Lindbergh (at Mueller Road). By pushing the building closer to Watson, they will have more room to queue up cars in the two ordering lanes of the drive thru.
During the last round of applications, the owners stated that the construction project is expected to take 3-4 months (which would mean completion this summer). Of course, they will be dealing with supply and labor shortages, so I wouldn’t order that Big Mac yet.
View site plans for the new building HERE