McDonalds unveils R10m refurbishment

Food and beverage giant McDonald’s South Africa unveiled its first newly built, revamped restaurant at Stoneridge shopping centre, in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

The R10-million flagship Stoneridge rebuild is the first of its kind in the fast food major’s Middle East and African markets.

The new features of the refurbished franchise include a neutral pallet that uses natural-looking materials such as timber, concrete, glass and stone.

“McDonald’s will be focused on the refurbishment of its restaurants throughout the country for the next three years,” CEO Greg Solomon told Engineering News Online during a tour of the new facilities.

He noted that McDonald’s intention with the in-store makeover was to make the customer the focus of attention, while also allowing for customers to interact with their environment. 
 
“The facility will boast a never-seen-before vertical play place wall that is within a safe controlled environment. It is a great contemporary atmosphere where families can enjoy a night out without breaking the bank,” he said.

He further explained that the new design was a more simple, international representation being incorporated into all of the McDonald’s franchises in South Africa.

Solomon further noted that the new design was more energy efficient as it used slightly smaller windows with a lower ceiling to ensure the space was more compact.

“Our equipment is also more compact and all newly built or refurbished restaurants will use light emitting diode lighting, which is more energy efficient,” he said, adding that the space cools and heats using natural elements.

“We don’t want to be the biggest, we want to be the best. Our priority right now over the next three years is reinvesting back into our current portfolio, making sure all our McDonald’s franchises are uniform, modern and contemporary,” he said.

Solomon pointed out that the company employs between 800 and 1 000 new employees every year.

“The potential future CEO of McDonald's could come from one of the restaurants,” he said, adding that it should be a priority of big business to upskill its employees.

McDonald’s South Africa formally trains 1 500 students through its McDonald’s training programme every year and is accredited with National Quality Form levels 2, 3 and 4.

“We are also focused on creating employment for women. Over 50% of our franchisees are female, 57% of our employees are female and 62% of all our managers are female,” noted Solomon.