Mcdonald’s Express Leaves Garland Site

Less than a year after it opened, the McDonald’s Express on Garland Avenue closed its doors on Jan. 6.

The fast-food chain opened the restaurant in March next to the Garland Theater, offering a limited menu and no parking. The theory was that the foot traffic to and from the theater would carry the restaurant, franchise owner Mark Ray said in March.

“Our thought was there were some McDonald’s customers we were missing,” he told the North Voice on March 9.

Those customers never materialized and the restaurant became the only one of 18 McDonald’s Express sites in Washington state to close, said Kristin Sandberg, a company spokeswoman.

“That was one of our original test sites,” said Sandberg. “We’ve learned the most appropriate places for the express are where there are a lot of people on their way to work or shopping. That area has more families and they are best served by the traditional McDonald’s.”

Garland Theater Manager Paul Quam said he knew in the first month that McDonald’s wasn’t making it.

“They thought people coming to the theater would stop and get hamburgers. We know they come here for popcorn and Cokes,” he said.

The owners of Corky’s Drive In, across the street from the theater, have a different theory.

“This is a mom-and-pop street,” said Corky’s co-owner David Hornak. “It’s weird they would try and muscle in on a street like this. Everyone takes care of their own, and the people around here took care of us. They just weren’t doing any business.”

Bob Erdman, former owner of Ferguson’s restaurant, had been on Garland Avenue for 22 years before he sold the business last week. There’s a misconception, he said, that Garland has a lot of foot traffic.

“You used to have a lot of foot traffic here. Now you have no foot traffic on Garland,” he said.

, DataTimes