McDonald's on Sunrise Highway in Lindenhurst has been undergoing renovations since mid-October, and as of tonight, December 3, it'll close for the final stage ahead of a soft reopening this Friday, December 7.
General Manager Orly Briones told Lindenhurst Patch on Monday afternoon the location on the corner of Sunrise and North Monroe Avenue, across the street from Babylon Town Hall, will close at 6 p.m.
"Tonight it's closing for the final phase of construction," he said. "We'll be getting all new equipment in the kitchen, and we'll finish the drive-through. It'll reopen at 6 a.m. on Friday."
The lobby and exterior have already received a facelift - one that was due since the location was opened in the mid-1990s.
Briones further noted the new exterior is one that'll become uniform among other McDonald's franchises, and is something that comes down from McDonald's corporate.
This particular location is owned by Anthony Litdke, and it's the first one in his batch of McDonald's franchises to receive the renovations, Briones explained.
Now the drive-through will feature two order points and one line to speed up the process. There'll be two places to place orders, two windows to accommodate the orders and pay, and one window to receive the food.
"It's a concept that's been in place in Medford for about a year. We did some research, and this'll allow this location - which is very busy - to increase business by 75 percent," Briones said.
"We'll be the second one on Long Island to have this new drive-through."
So when this McDonald's reopens on Friday morning for the morning breakfast rush, customers will visibly notices the changes that have taken shape since before Hurricane Sandy.
Friday's reopening is also a soft opening, Briones said, and the grand reopening is in the works for Saturday, December 15 - replete with grand reopening specials.
For instance Briones said at midnight on December 15 the first 100 inside the lobby will receive free Big Macs for a year - with purchase of fries and a drink, of course.
"There'll be a key chain given out to indicate who receives this," the general manager said, adding there'll be a DJ there, too, to herald the grand reopening.
This also marks a new trend for McDonald's, having the lobby open 24/7. Prior to this the drive-through has only been open 24/7.
"The North Babylon McDonald's already started this, having the lobby open 24 hours," Briones said.
During breakfast on December 15 there'll be all-you-can-eat hot cakes, with the purchase of the first order of hot cakes.
There'll also be raffles, face-painting and a visit from Ronald McDonald.
And at 9 a.m. that day the staff, the owner and management will hold a ceremony to raise the flag - an event that Briones is busy coordinating.
He noted invitations have gone out to Mayor Tom Brennan, Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer and other officials, and he's working on having the JROTC from Lindenhurst High School there, along with the LHS dance team.
"We're in Lindenhurst, so we want to honor Lindenhurst and invite the whole community down for the grand reopening celebration that day," Briones said.
Take a look at the photos of what's been done so far.
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