COAL TOWNSHIP - The Shamokin Area Middle/High School Chorus took advantage of the moment while warming up for their performance at Thursday's grand reopening at the Shamokin McDonald's.
"Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun," the group of about 20 singers repeated in a higher pitch each round.
Performances by the chorus and a trio of musicians from the Shamokin Area Middle/High School band, along with a cake in the image of the restaurant created by Rita's Bakeshop, Coal Township, created many smiling faces during McDonald's brief 9 a.m. ceremony.
"This is a very special day for us," said owner/operator Roland Kissinger.
The restaurant has been remodeled and the dining area expanded. There are padded booths and more tables, new counters, a community table in the middle of the restaurant, tandem drive-thru service that will be operational in the summer, a new dual-point ordering system and new landscaping. Gone is a wall that separated the main seating area from another one created where the Playland once existed.
The new look for the restaurant was a first since it opened in December 1993, when it was built new near its previous location just a few yards away along Route 61 a short drive outside the city line in Coal Township.
"The Shamokin McDonald's is very special to me," Kissinger said. "It was the first restaurant that I purchased."
The owner of six McDonald's restaurants in the area, including ones in Frackville and Elysburg, then sold the Shamokin building, only to repurchase it in 2002.
"I think I'm the first owner to purchase the same restaurant twice," he joked.
Lots of help
In celebration of the opening, McDonald's made several $250 donations to local organizations, including the Northumberland County Council for the Arts and Humanities, the Soldiers Circle Veterans/Marine Corps League, which is working to bring the Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall to Shamokin in 2014, the band and chorus programs at Shamokin Area, and the Brady Fire Company for its help with the remodeling project.
"We were set for line painting one day and the parking lot was a complete mess due to the landscaping work," the owner said. "Members of the Brady Fire Company came and helped us clean up the parking lot, so we were able to complete the job."
In his remarks, Kissinger thanked everyone who attended, including Shamokin and Coal Township officials, business organization representatives, and gave special thanks to the crew at GCM Construction, of Mount Joy, for their hard work in the major remodel project or "MRP" as it is known. At one point, Kissinger said, 45 people were working at the restaurant and they able to get the MRP done in three weeks.
"What used to take us 18 months, we have it down pat that it usually takes us three to six weeks to get done," said GCM manager Greg Yessian. "We do about a dozen of these a year."
Kissinger also thanked J&S Landscaping for their work on the exterior, and his wife, Kathy, for making the final decisions on the color scheme of the restaurant.
In Shamokin, the remodel meant a complete gutting of the interior dining area and bathrooms, from floor to ceiling. While the restaurant was closed to customers, the employees kept the business open for those needing their Quarter Pounder or McWrap fix.
"There were times it was hectic," said restaurant manager Darlene Thomas. "When they were doing the exterior and we only had the lobby open, it was a little rough. Once we could open the drive-thru and close the lobby, it got a lot easier."
Thomas said everyone on staff loves the new look.
"I love how the seating is and the landscaping outside," the manager said.
Customers who came in Thursday agreed.
"The place looks very nice and they did a great job with it," said Thomas Fiorey, of Coal Township. "There is a lot more room inside and it's very comfortable to sit and enjoy your food."
New ordering system
The Shamokin location now features a self-service beverage bar and McDonald's new dual-point ordering system.
"You give your order to the cashier who enters it and gives you a receipt with a number on it," Kissinger said. "You can then find your seat and relax while the food is prepared. When it is ready, your receipt number will appear on a screen and you can get up and pick up your food at a different area of the counter.
"It's working out very well," Thomas said. "The customers are starting to get the hang of it."
Later this summer, McDonald's will open the tandem drive-thru lane, which will enable workers to accept two orders at the same time, thereby serving customers quicker.
"We didn't have the room here to do the dual drive-thru like we have at Elysburg, so we've adapted the new system and will still be able to take orders faster," Kissinger said.
The grand reopening festivities continue today with a vintage car show by the Gear Grinders Car Club, a magic show with Ronald McDonald and a giveaway of a free Big Mac once a week for a year for the first 97 customers starting at 4 p.m.