Bethesda McDonald's requesting more permits for interior changes, possibly touchscreen ordering

The McDonald's at 5214 River Road in Bethesda has requested Montgomery County permits for more interior alterations, about three months after asking for one to add a "dessert kiosk" to the restaurant. There now will be two "double-sided kiosks," a "dessert station," and unspecified renovations to the dining room.

Bethesda could be one of the very first places in America to get the dessert station, a new concept McDonald's has said nothing about in public, even when discussing major renovations they plan to roll out nationwide as recently as this week. Elaborate dessert counters with exotic custom options so far only exist in a few Asian cities, and in a much less ambitious form at the "McDonald's of the Future" that opened in St. Louis, Missouri last year.

Which form we'll be getting is unknown, but I'd bet on the simpler one with apple pie chunks crumbled on your sundae over the Matcha McFlurries of Asia. Also unknown from the permit request is whether the self-serve ordering kiosks McDonald's currently has in about 500 U.S. locations are the "double-sided kiosks" being added here. Those large touchscreen kiosks are indeed double-sided, allowing two people to order from one machine at once, and then pay with a credit card. I suspect that's what they're adding here.

Dining room renovations could include a set up for table service, another feature the chain is introducing nationwide to more and more locations, but again there are no details in the permit request referring to that. It does mention that the front counter will be "modified."