McPants on Fire?

I’ve been watching that god-awful fortress of a retaining wall around the London Road McDonald’s slowly bulge outward over the past months with a mixture of bemused amazement and horror. Now comes word via the News Tribune that the wall is being knocked down and rebuilt … as part of a cosmetic enhancement?

Well, I guess the structure is nearly two whole years old — long overdue for a facelift. And god knows, the thing defined grotesque from day one. Indeed, according to Brian Gist, Mickey-Dee’s regional marketing manager, this has nothing to do with any structural issues; it’s all about cosmetics:

“I am not familiar with a lean,” Gist said. “Our construction company was looking at it and said safety was never an issue. If there was a safety concern, it would have been addressed immediately.”

Now, I’m no engineer, but I have built a few retaining walls in my time, and to me, this one displayed ominous signs (such as an increasingly vertical slope) that it was readying to dump a good sized chunk of parking lot onto one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. You really couldn’t help noticing it from the drive-through at Burger King.

So what do you people think? Is there a new sense of corporate aesthetic on the menu at the golden arches — or are we being served?

18 Comments

Dorkus

about 12 years ago

Tough to say. 

I don't see why they wouldn't just come out and say that whoever built it did a bad job. It's not like it reflects poorly on McDonalds... They don't build retaining walls. 

.

-Berv

about 12 years ago

No. McDonald's can do no wrong. They are perfect. How dare you insinuate otherwise?!

-Berv

about 12 years ago

I'm lovin' it.

pranelli

about 12 years ago

Please call the city inspectors and walk-ability coordinator.  Before the wall was completed an oops happened and no sidewalk was planned for London Road as remodeling was being done originally.  Now we have another chance for a sidewalk there since the wall needs to be rebuilt.

in.dog.neato

about 12 years ago

According to the missus, the construction permit specifically states the reason as being "repair."

-Berv

about 12 years ago

Looking at a picture on the DNT, it looked like the wall was leaning past vertical.  Safety wasn't an issue?  Why not admit it and move on?  Why lie about it?

baci

about 12 years ago

Ronald McDonald is an Illuminati.

BadCat!

about 12 years ago

Why is this an issue? Am I missing something?

Who cares why McDonald's is rebuilding a wall? If they didn't rebuild it and it was a hazard, then that would be something to talk about.

tamara

about 12 years ago

I think it's interesting because the regional director for McDonald's says it's purely for cosmetic reasons, and there was never a safety issue, but the permits are for repair and the local McDonald's representative says it's for repair. Which is it?

-Berv

about 12 years ago

It is an issue because others have observed that it is potentially dangerous, and they denied that it is potentially dangerous: "I am not familiar with a lean."  They are saying that it is cosmetic only, when in fact the evidence seems to indicate that the wall is structurally unsound.  

It wouldn't be an issue at all if they said "the wall is structurally unsound, so we're replacing it."

If they feel the need to spin something this minor, that really creeps me out.

BadCat!

about 12 years ago

Sure. Wall-gate.

They're a restaurant - they're not qualified to judge if a wall is structurally sound or not. That's what construction companies are for. If you ask McDonald's about a construction issue, they aren't going to be able to give an answer. Likewise if you ask one of the construction guys about a hamburger, they're not going to have much to say.

-Berv

about 12 years ago

Disagree. Not everyone at McDonald's flips burgers.  They very likely have a real estate division, and are very likely on top of the $ituation.  I'll give you that perhaps the wall may not have been in 'imminent' danger of collapsing.  This seems to be a big corporation lying about a small thing.  I wonder what else they lie about?

adam

about 12 years ago

Same contractor that built the Co-op's retaining wall?

Tom

about 12 years ago

I also disagree.  I know plenty of construction guys who know their way around a hamburger.

Bret

about 12 years ago

BadCat!, I suspect there are many construction guys that can make a mean hamburger that is way way way better than the "food' served at McDonald's.  Just sayin'.

BadCat!

about 12 years ago

I'll grant you that hamburgers and construction guys was not a perfect analogy...

The Big E

about 12 years ago

 Disagree. Not everyone at McDonald's flips burgers. They very likely have a real estate division, and are very likely on top of the $ituation.

[For what it's worth, McDonalds real estate operations might be more important to the company than the crummy food.]

Dorkus

about 12 years ago

I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a structurally sound retaining wall today.

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