The owners of the first McDonalds restaurant in the world to offer fine dining have attracted so much demand for the table service concept adopted by the chain around Australia that they are doubling the inside dining space at Warilla.
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Glenn and Katia Dwarte made the decision to spend $2.5 million on redeveloping the restaurant 18 months ago when their fine dining was attracting interest around the globe.
The Warilla store has also set a new benchmark internationally for events such as Valentine’s Day dining.
Work is now well underway as the Dwartes spend more on capital investment on one restaurant than any other McDonalds in Australia this year.
But true to form Mr and Mrs McDonalds Wollongong are doing everything possible to cause as little discomfort, disruption and inconvenience to customers as possible.
The new McDonalds Warilla will incorporate a new PlayLand as well as a total store rebuild. There is an additional drive-thru window especially for McCafe orders. “One of the mean reasons wer are doing it is our volume here is going gangbusters. As it sits now we have the third highest drive-thru volume in Australia. After this we may make number one,” Mr Dwarte said.
The new store will also have three Espresso machines to help meet demand.
“We are going to make it more efficient by having the McCafe up near the drive-thru,” Mrs Dwarte said.
She said there would also be a lot more room inside for table service.
The new restaurant will have three distinct areas.
“There is going to be a cafe zone, a parents and kids zone and a teen zone,” Mrs Dwarte said.
“Customers are asking for more indoor experience. What we are building will be way more modern.”
When the store reopens in early July the Dwartes are expecting to have created more jobs particularly in the hosting area for table service as well as the drive-thru and kitchen.
The new two level PlayLand will have a seperate toddler zone and the whole play area will be under cover.
“It is huge. It is going to have three massive slides,” Mrs Dwarte said.
“We really want to make this a destination space for people. And provide a really nice area for people to sit back and relax.”
The Dwartes also have some big plans for Valentine’s Day in the new restaurant in 2019.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
