Thursday, May 21, 2015

Not so Fast: McDonald's Opening in Place of Former QuikTrip

Burger joint bound for former gas station.

A new McDonald's will soon break ground on Chamblee Tucker Road in Chamblee.  The new twin drive-thru unit will be built at the corner of Chamblee Tucker Road and DeKalb Technology Parkway.  The 3,700 square foot fast food restaurant replaces a former QuikTrip which was recently demolished.  Tulsa, Oklahoma-based QuikTrip opened a new, larger format "Gen 3" gas station and C-store across the street in 2013.  

I first got wind of the planned McDonald's last year, but it seemed to have stalled.  New information confirms a ground lease was executed for the parcel and that construction will commence soon.  

Don Thompson stepped down as President and CEO of McDonald's this past January and Brit Steve Easterbrook now heads the billion dollar burger business.  McDonald's has struggled to drive sales, often aggravating franchisees with the addition of new products and equipment.  

McDonald's previously added new area locations in Brookhaven on Clairmont Road near Buford Highway (a relocation) and on Buford Highway in Doraville, about a half mile outside the perimeter.  A new McDonald's also opened on North Druid Hills Road in place of the former Atlanta Diner in Brookhaven.

Not far away from the upcoming McDonald's, on the other side of Chamblee Tucker, a new Zaxby's will also soon start construction.  The Zaxby's, too, has been stalled for months.  The former Bon Auto Service shop the chicken joint will replace was recently demolished to prepare for the construction.  The site is about 2 blocks from I-285 and across the street from the Kroger-anchored Embry Village shopping center.  

McDonald's has streamlined its construction process to the point where they can have most standard restaurants open in about 90 days.  I'd expect for the upcoming Chamblee location to take about that long.  The upcoming Zaxby's will likely take longer, perhaps four to five months.  

While Zaxby's is not (yet) a publicly traded company, McDonald's is, as are Burger King and Wendy's.

Below are yesterday's closing stock prices for the three burger chains and closing prices from the time of my previous post on 4/23/13.

Restaurant Brands International Inc (QSR) $41.07 / +5.20% YTD
McDonald's (MCD) $100.11 / +6.84% YTD
Wendy's (WEN) $11.57 / +28.13% YTD

Burger King (BKW) $18.31 / +11.37% YTD
McDonald's (MCD) $99.32 / +12.59% YTD
Wendy's (WEN) $5.42 / +15.32% YTD


Following the 2014 merger with Tim Hortons, Burger King is now known as Restaurant Brands International and trades under the QSR ticker symbol.  

As you can see, McDonald's stock price has remained about the same while Wendy's has performed especially well, up over 100% since my last post. 

Fun Factoid: A new film called "The Founder" will soon begin shooting in metro Atlanta.  The film stars Michael Keaton as Ray Kroc, the man credited with growing McDonald's into one of the most well known brands on the planet.  

Please share your thoughts below.  

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the McDonald's and Zaxby's are on the same side of Chamblee Tucker (the north side).

~mindspringyahoo

Anonymous said...

McDonalds sucks, however with their massive real estate footprint, they have an opportunity to recreate the brand and execute one of the biggest brand repositioning efforts in the history of the world.

Atlantan99 said...

@MindspringYahoo,

You are right, that could have been phrased differently. The point I was trying to make was that McDonald's is near 85 whereas Zaxby's is on the "other side" close to 285. I'm sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for your continued comments and readership.

TheJohnP said...

About 1/2 mile from the new Zaxby's construction on Chamblee Tucker Rd & across 285 is a long established McDonald's. This one recently incorporated the "Create Your Taste" menu. This McD is roughly 2 miles away and on same street as the new McD construction.

Ham said...

I’m not really a big fan of McDonald’s, but will admit that traditionally they have been a go-to while short on time or traveling. In the past I could stop at a McDonalds’s anywhere in the country and get pretty much the same food, fast and cheap. As they’ve tried to expand their menus the service has gotten slower, quality has suffered and prices have increased. I know they are considering reducing the menu selections which seems to make sense. After all if I want a salad Mickey D’s ain’t my first choice. However, they do have an opportunity to regain some of their lost appeal in the fast hamburger arena.

Anonymous said...

They obviously are planning ahead. When they raise starting pay to $15/hour, they are going to need all those new locations to have spots for all the people who want to work there. Including me maybe.

Anonymous said...

McDonald's restaurant has elected to close some low performing stores.

One store that has closed is on Roswell Street, Marietta GA near 41.

Also noted is the number of Wendy's that are being updated with new interior and exterior landscaping.

As to the comments on the $15 dollars per hour~ if that occurs, you will only see the dollar menu in a history museum.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...