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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Local fast food chains closing for remodeling, reconstruction

From wire reports

Two fast-food restaurants on Third Avenue are getting updated looks this summer.

Arby’s, at 328 W. Third Ave., closed Monday with plans to demolish the restaurant this month. Franchise co-owner Dave McGann said the restaurant’s location will be moved east about 30 feet to accommodate a wrap-around drive-thru lane.

“To be efficient, we had to start over,” McGann said. “It’s not easy when the building is right on the corner like that. It’s a great location.”

The restaurant served about 1,000 people per day but suffered revenue losses of 30 to 40 percent because of construction on Third Avenue, McGann said. He said the construction, which started in April, made it a good time to close the store.

McGann, who co-owns five Arby’s restaurants in the Spokane area, said the Third Avenue restaurant had been renovated at least a half dozen times. He said it is necessary to renovate stores every five to seven years to keep the look fresh. The new structure will conform to the restaurant chain’s new “pinnacle” design and will seat more than 100 people. It will cost more than $1 million to complete, although McGann said he was unsure of the cost because construction bids are still out.

McDonald’s, at 517 W. Third Ave., will close in August for a complete interior renovation. McDonald’s community relations representative Kari Rose said the store, which was last remodeled in 1974, will be reduced from two stories to one because of a decline in sit-down customers. The store served 800 to 1,000 cars per day in the drive-thru, which accounted for nearly 70 percent of the store’s total revenue.

“Everybody is on the go, not very many people are coming in and sitting down,” Rose said.

Rose said the renovation has been scheduled for several years and has nothing to do with the construction on Third Avenue. She said the 3,750-square-foot building will not undergo any major design changes but will fit with the redesigns of other stores in the area. It will be closed for about 3 1/2 months.