Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
McDonald’s celebrates grand reopening
Downingtown location reopened last week
It feels good to be back at home.
Laura Sander, owner/operator owner of the McDonald’s in Downingtown Borough, thanked several people for their assistance to upgrade the McDonald’s, including borough officials and the construction foreman, Justin Sipe.
“I hope this is great for Downingtown,” she said about the grand reopening, “and it’s great for us.”
The store reopened last week and they held a grand reopening ceremony on Monday morning. Free coffee was offered throughout the day in celebration, after the store was closed for nine weeks during the full remodeling process. Sander said the building was down to its studs.
“It was absolutely worth it,” Sander said during the ceremony.
McDonald’s announced the building underwent renovations to reflect McDonald’s new restaurant experience, including new features like digital selforder kiosks, table service, and mobile ordering, all wrapped up in a sleek new modern décor.
Sander thanked Downingtown Borough Manger Steve Sullins on behalf of the borough council members and zoning members, for working with them to
allow a smooth process to remodel the store at 227 East Lancaster Avenue. Her son, Christopher Sander, who is the co-owner of the franchise, said everything went according to plan except for a few delays in construction because of the recent flooding.
Laura Sander noted that the remodeling actually began in 2013 and the full remodeling recently began. In another month, she anticipates her Exton store to begin the remodeling process as well.
The renovations are a part of a nationwide transformation underway at McDonald’s to put more choice and control in the hands of guests by improving how they order, how they pay and how they are served, according to its corporation. McDonald’s announced in August that the company and its franchisees are investing approximately $266 million in Pennsylvania throughout 2018-19 on the construction and modernization of more than 360 McDonald’s restaurants to transform the customer experience.
“McDonald’s is a closeknit group, between the corporation, the franchise and the suppliers,” Laura Sander said. “We work together to get the best results. McDonald’s offers so many opportunities to its employees.”
Upon graduating from college, Sander saw an opening for a manager trainee at McDonald;s. She began that in 1974 and thought she would work there as she job searched, but she enjoyed it so much she became a part of the franchise 30 years ago. She added that half of the employees in the franchise began
as crew members, many began as teenagers.
Prior to that she moved around a lot and she even worked for McDonald’s Headquarters at one point. She continued to move around after her son Christopher was born, but they decided to settle in and make this area their home. The store has been in operation for 40 years now.
“One thing we like to do at McDonald’s, is to give back to the community,” Sander said. “The community is so instrumental in making us a success. In particular, we wanted to give back to people who are a service to the community in Downingtown.”
She presented a $1,000 check donation to two local organizations, the Minquas Fire Company of the Downingtown Fire Department and the Lord’s Pantry. The former firehouse and the Lord’s Pantry are within sight of the McDonalds. Minquas Battalion Chief Jason Brooks and Jan Leaf, of the Lord’s Pantry, accepted the donations.