McDonald’s new 256 sqm restaurant at Green Square is a departure from its traditional footprint, as doing more with less becomes key to the company’s growth strategy.
The restaurant in the brand-new Infinity by Crown Group building is half the size of traditional freestanding restaurants, which typically encompass a gross floor area of between 400-500 sqm.
McDonald’s expects to open 100 new restaurants nationally over the next three years. This is a significant addition to the already extensive network which will reach more than 1,000 restaurants nationally next year.
McDonald’s employs more than 105,000 people in restaurants and corporate offices Australia wide, and is the largest employer of youth in the country.
A large contributor to McDonald’s restaurant growth will be found in New South Wales and will include the small format retail model, of which Green Square is an exemplar.
McDonald’s will open four new small format restaurants in New South Wales this year, including Randwick, Green Square, Darling Square and Castle Towers. These sites are all between 100 sqm and 250 sqm in size and offer the full McDonald’s menu.
“We want to meet customers on their terms, where they are, so locating new stores in densely populated urban environments, or adjacent to mass transit generators, is key to our development strategy,” says McDonald’s development manager, John Waight.
“We also carefully consider our customers in terms of their work and lifestyle, and look at key demographic markers such as levels of car ownership and travel to work to make sure we are targeting the right areas for these small format offerings.
“Other platforms, such as working with food delivery partner UberEATS, have been considered in the design of our small format stores, with large collect areas and designated preparation spaces ensuring our dine in customers and delivery partner all enjoy our modern spaces.”
McDonald’s construction manager, Saba Kausar, says working with experienced developers such as Lendlease and Crown Group has been instrumental in integrating McDonald’s operations into larger developments.
Kauser has had project management responsibility for all four NSW McDonald’s retail sites delivered this year as well as two of the traditional freestanding drive-thrus.
“We have enjoyed partnering with groups such as Lendlease and Crown Group who have really welcomed Macca’s as part of the community in their developments.”