Rene Valdez, right, assistant manager at McDonald's, helps Cece Velazquez, left, order on the new touch-screen kiosk in the newly remodeled McDonald's Monday afternoon in Chehalis.
Construction equipment is seen in a reflection of the lobby of the newly remodeled McDonald's Monday afternoon in Chehalis.
Mathew Neal, right, and his wife Kimberley Neal, left, play on the new 'Kids Play' interactive game pads in the newly remodeled McDonald's Monday afternoon in Chehalis.
The newly remodeled McDonald's is located along NE Kresky Avenue in Chehalis.
The new touch-screen kiosk is seen in the newly remodeled McDonald's Monday afternoon in Chehalis.
A McDonald's is located at 15 NE Median St. in Chehalis along NE Kresky Avenue.
After 43 years, the McDonald’s on Northeast Kresky Avenue in Chehalis has received a facelift and a load of upgrades. Following two months of construction, McDonald’s now includes multiple new amenities.
“The restaurant now has self-service kiosks, tableside service and sleek, modern decor,” said Lindsay Rainey, a spokeswoman for the company. “You definitely won’t recognize this McDonald’s.”
The self service kiosks were added to shorten wait times for customers on the go.
“It speeds up the time that a customer is in and out,” said Rene Valdez, the assistant manager.
Local owner and operator Shari Nixon also commented on the new kiosks, stating, “It’s a convenience for customers. If they’re in a hurry they can beat the line.”
However, a majority of the $1.8 million went into maintenance and repairs for the 43-year-old building.
“A lot of it was just repairing pipes, flooring, the ceiling, the air conditioning units and the roof,” said Nixon, “along with city expenses such as adding sidewalks and street lights, which added about 15 percent to additional costs.”
The drive-through was reopened as of Dec. 30, and the lobby reopened Jan. 5; however, the exterior of the building is still under construction.
“If I had to make a guess, it should be done by mid-February,” said Nixon.
While the location employs 38 people, there were no serious effects on employees’ ability to work during construction, according to the company.
“Some of them wanted to take unpaid time off...” said Nixon, “...and the ones who didn't would work at our Depot store, our Chehalis store or at the Walmart McDonald’s.”
To welcome in the improved building, McDonald’s is planning a series of sweepstakes.
“To celebrate the re-opening, this location will be providing daily in-restaurant giveaways beginning January 20, including 300 travel mugs which can be used for refills until January 31,” said Rainey, “On January 27 from 3-5 p.m., local radio station KMNT will be live-to-air from the restaurant as we host giveaways every 10 minutes, including children’s bicycles, lounge chairs and more.”
