The new McDonald's On-the-Go restaurant has opened at 11710 Rockville Pike in White Flint. This is only the third of this new restaurant design concept from the chain to open in the United States, with the first two having been in California and Texas. The emphasis is on takeout, delivery, and - above all else - drive-thru service. There is no indoor dining area of the type that you have come to expect from the Golden Arches, and most other traditional fast food restaurants.
However, as you've seen in my ongoing updates during the construction of the building, there is one table in the small lobby. Customers are apparently allowed to dine indoors at that table on a first-come, first-seated basis, and were doing so last evening. All other patrons were standing, awaiting their orders to be handed out from the pickup window, which replaces the traditional open counter. "Fight for $15" touchscreen kiosks likewise replace the cashiers and cash registers of the past.
The two biggest upgrades for nearby residents with this McDonald's are the addition of a drive-thru (the old McDonald's just down the street did not have a drive-thru), and the fact that the drive-thru will be open 24 hours. A 24-hour McDonald's - or a 24-hour fast food restaurant of any brand - is a rare find in moribund Montgomery County. Speaking of which, the new restaurant's debut is being initially hampered by the County's anti-business sign code, which has steadily removed and banned most of the prominent and legible roadside business signage ubiquitous in the rest of the country. There were only four customers in the lobby last night, and few cars using the drive-thru, suggesting that few people driving past were aware the McDonald's was even there or open. A typical McDonald's has a steady line of cars at the drive-thru, even during off hours. Aside from those establishments who still have grandfathered roadside signage, a large percentage of businesses along the Pike are invisible to all but the most careless rubberneckers driving by. Heckuva job, Brownie!
17 comments:
You advocate allowing businesses to erect gigantic, garish advertising, so 355 can look even junkier, more like the traditional pikes "ubiquitous in the rest of the country”? You want to invite [more] light pollution and the inherent tackiness those signs bring with them: implications of nearby trailer parks, Walmarts, and a population of unemployed meth-heads? Regulating such signage is not done arbitrarily, for a dopamine hit and the rush of power and control. It's to reduce visual clutter, which myriad studies over the years suggest can distract driver attention and slow reaction times, resulting in increased traffic congestion and risk of accidents. Jurisdictions around the country are trying to *reduce* the chaos of advertising signage littering commercial strips. Why on earth would you advocate *increasing* it? Is traffic not already slow and dangerous enough, with drivers preoccupied with their phones while navigating their vehicles? If motorists want to know where the nearest McDonald's is, "there's an app for that." Seriously. Mobile phones are ubiquitous, as anyone knows who’s been stuck behind drivers idling at a green light because they’re absorbed with their “screens.” Asking Google for mcdonalds near me will bring results —and a map!— a lot more quickly that driving ten miles under the limit while trying to spot familiar golden arches in a forest of roadside sign structures. I know, I know — “You complain about drivers distracted with their phones, then advocate they use their phones *more*.” I’m pragmatic. The chance of getting motorists to put down their phones approximates the odds of my being coronated King of England. Why not defer to smartphones to provide the advertising, since the tech is already in place and more than ninety percent of the country has a such devices glued to their hands already.
McDonald's on University Blvd West, across from Wheaton Plaza, is 24-hour drive-thru.
You must be from the planning department. Having easily visible distinctive signage is a help for business. So Mont Co Planning is against it. RT 355i is not an aesthetic experience period.
You, uh, okay?
First of all, Wheaton is too far to drive from Bethesda for a McDonalds Drive thru.
I know people have mixed feelings about McDonalds, but if you live in Bethesda, it’s LONG OVERDUE. Now, finally, Bethesdans will have 2 McDonalds that are Drive Thru on either side of bethesda, River Rd to the South, and Rockville Pike (North Bethesda) to the North.
I AM JUST THRILLED !!! ABOUT TIME !!!
Exactly so, @ 7:55 — 355 is not an aesthetic[ally pleasing] experience, and that is with sign restrictions in place. Imagine what it would look like if those restrictions were removed —something out of New Jersey. Opening a business in a particular location is a choice, made with the acceptance of the laws and ordinances governing the location. I realize ithe current political climate encourages treating the rule of law as a salad bar at which one picks and chooses the ordinances and legislation with which one agrees, while ignoring the rest. But the less palatable rules are equally valid and enforceable. When business owners set up shop in a location, the onus is on them to know what the laws are that will govern operation in that spot. Easily visible, distinctive signage might well be a help to businesses, but it’s a potential hazard to life and a certified eyesore to the motorists, pedestrians, and residents of the community in which such advertising is allowed. It is a rare thing to find these days, but at least in this regard, citizen welfare takes precedence over the cosseting of commerce.
I also agree with the signage restrictions. In the modern world there are a number of effective ways businesses can target customers that do not rely on carnival barker style tactics.
It is on the wrong side of the Pike!
And?
@10:22, I live in Chevy Chase and have found River Road always jammed, at least when I’ve gone. The drive-thru crews were S. L. O. W, the line of cars out to the street. Factor in inevitably getting stuck each way behind dumb-dumbs going five under the limit along Little Falls Pkwy —can’t be too cautious on such a perilous stretch of pavement, I guess— and it’s easier and quicker to boom out to Wheaton.
YMMV
@9:57 AM: Blame it on the permanent Elrich Humps.
I ended up in on a local bus in Crystal City. Never been there before. One street has a lot of restaurants with lotsa glitz. It looked great for a night spot. Big signs can be iconic. That livens up the landscape. Regarding citizen welfare -it has surely taken a backseat to developer interests in White Flint and in Bethesda. Developer businesses get preferential treatment for some reason.
My pet peeve is lit window signage, and particularly the scrolling and / or moving variety. It's third world, atrocious, and yes, illegal. Even the old rotating barber poles aren't to code.
I even saw one, likely od foreign manufacture where 'close' was displayed vs. 'closed,' ir wasn't burned out, just manufactured that way. The simple solution is to clean it all out.
Wheaton? Enter at your own risk!
On that note, tho off topic somewhat, anyone notice a lack of commercial mostly plastic (those infernal coroplast) signs in Bethesda and upper NWDC. I've heard an early morning walking group polices our area. Anyone know how to contact them to join and/or thank them? They seem pretty good at leaving signage neighbors and local events put out. There are certain moving companies, rug merchants, and that also nail and screw signage to trees. Good riddance to all those signs, thanks!
Don’t make fun of Wheaton. I go there to go to KFC Sometimes !!!
I believe the Wendy's on Rockville Pike by Wootton Parkway is now also open 24 hours.
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