When the Logans Ferry McDonald's reopens Friday following an extensive renovation, it will be the first in the Alle-Kiski Valley to feature touchscreen ordering and table service.
The restaurant, at Logans Ferry and Greensburg roads in Lower Burrell, is the second in Southwestern Pennsylvania to feature the new technology and service, following a location on McKnight Road in Ross, according to owner Roy Draper during a preview tour Thursday.
The Logans Ferry McDonald's closed for renovations Oct. 1 and is to reopen at 5:30 a.m. today with a new, modern look.
“I kind of knew how it was going to come out,” Draper said. “It's better than I expected. It looks like a brand-new store — 80 percent of it is.”
A Big Mac giveaway is part of the reopening festivities. The first 100 customers who come inside at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. will get a card good for one free Big Mac each week for a year.
The modernization of the 28-year-old building cost between $1 million and $1.6 million, Draper said. It was gutted inside. The outside features a new two-lane drive-thru.
“The only thing we left up were the walls,” Draper said.
Logans Ferry is one of six McDonald's Draper owns. He also owns two in Penn Hills, two in Monroeville and one in Verona.
The Verona location is scheduled for renovations in December.
The kiosks are part of what McDonald's calls its “Experience of the Future.” All of the fast food giant's locations nationwide are to have them by 2020, Draper said.
No one lost a job to the new technology, Draper said. In fact, he said, he had to hire more people for table service.
Customers will be able to order and pay at one of two self-service kiosks or at conventional registers.
Those who eat-in will have their food brought to their table, using bluetooth-enabled table tents.
“We've never done table service at McDonald's,” Draper said. “We want to make it more family-oriented.”
Customers also will be able to get their own drinks at a self-serve drink station, which the location did not have before.
A fireplace that adorned the dining room is gone, as is a large round wooden table that was popular with the location's older patrons.
To serve his senior customers, Draper said he made a point of getting three smaller round tables and lowered a “community table” that is usually a high-top.
While the restaurant has the new two-lane drive-thru, there is a way to avoid it without getting out of the car.
The resurfaced parking lot features two spaces for those who order on a mobile app, which will begin use at Logans Ferry on Tuesday. Those who order on the app are prompted to pay upon entering the parking lot. If they're not eating inside, employees will run the food out.
“What we're trying to do is catch up with the technology,” Draper said.
Because of a lack of drivers, Logans Ferry is the only one of Draper's six locations that doesn't have food delivery through Uber. It will be offered once there are enough drivers in the area, he said.
Draper timed the renovation to coincide with the closing of Logans Ferry Road. While the road will be closed for bridge work for about another month, Draper is eager to get back in business.
“I'm hoping we're going to be busy,” Draper said. “I need it to be busy.”
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.
