New-look McDonald's set for grand re-opening

KELLOGG — After weeks of construction efforts, the Kellogg McDonald’s is almost ready to re-open its doors.

Owners Tim and Terri Skubitz announced in September that the 26-year-old restaurant was about to undergo a grand makeover and that project is nearing completion.

After remodeling both the interior and exterior of the building while also adding a second drive-through ordering lane, the project has taken a little longer than what was originally projected, but the end results will be worth the wait.

The drive-through in particular was a big point of emphasis for the owners, who saw regularly long lines at the drive-through and wanted to address the situation.

“As fast as we could move the cars, with so many people in the line,” Terri Skubitz mentioned, “adding that second lane adds the ability for us to have order takers taking multiple orders at the same time.”

As for the front, the new look of the restaurant is the first full remodel of the building since its opening in 1993.

Also added to the inside were the self-ordering kiosks, which allow for people to handle their own ordering if they so choose.

While many people are resistant to these kiosks because of the notion of jobs being lost, the exact opposite is in store due to the addition of the kiosks.

“We still always have the option of going to the front counter, they’re manned and employees are there,” Tim said. “It is more labor-intensive, some people would think the contrary, that you bring in self-service kiosks, but we still have people that are running out the food. So it actually puts more people in the back of the house, if you relieve somebody from a cashier position, they’re able to serve a customer somewhere else.”

In fact, the addition of the kiosks and the new facility opened the door for an additional hiring of what is called a Guest Experience Leader (or GEL).

The GEL’s job is to make sure that things like seating can be found, orders get promptly delivered and assistance with the use of the kiosks (among many other things).

The Skubitzs are also excited to announce that they will be hosting a grand re-opening party in a couple weeks that will see them really demonstrate their appreciation for the community they’ve joined.

Among the free snacks, games and other fun activities, they will be outfitting local kids with winter amenities.

“We have brand new winter gear that we will be outfitting our youngest customers and keepin’ them cozy during the winter time,” Terri said.

The new gear from The Children’s Place consists of new hats, ski gloves and socks, which are all big needs for kids during our cold and wet winter months.

McDonald’s grand re-opening party is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 4-6 p.m. at the restaurant.