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 Al Nielsen, owner of the McDonald's restaurant in Yellowknife, stands inside his recently renovated dining area, which features a Giant Mine mural as well as a fireplace. Customers say they are loving the new look. But there is still more to come, with lighting and music to round off the work by February or March. Nielsen said the renovations coincide nicely with the restaurant's new menu. - Stephan Burnett/NNSL photo |
Of that, $180,000 was spent on the Playland alone.
The restaurant's lobby has been gutted and replaced, owner Al Nielsen said this week.
"All the seating, flooring, tiles, walls, lighting and the fireplace has been put in," said Nielsen.
A mural depicting Giant Mine has also been added to the wall along with another mural depicting different Yellowknife sight-seeing spots.
"It looks beautiful. I've gone to a lot of McDonald's and this is unbelievable," said customer Mohamud Ali Hashi.
Another customer, Paul Adkin, said he wasn't surprised to see the Playland children's gaming area introduced here, but the fireplace in the main dining area wasn't something he was expecting to find.
The work also includes the installation of new registers and counter-top debit machines to speed up service.
The construction hassles are not entirely complete: the washrooms are still to be re-done, Nielsen said.
Some of the booths were being worked on as of Monday, but were expected to be complete by Tuesday.
"I'm waiting for some lighting that hangs above each table and then I'm going to (have) the music system installed," he said.
Nielsen said he expects it will be the middle of February or March once everything is finished.
He said the timing of the new-look restaurant matches well with McDonald's new deli sandwiches.
"It's exciting for all of us and a whole new area of the menu," said Nielsen.
