McDonald’s Kumeu opens

McDonald’s opened its 171st New Zealand restaurant in Kumeu on Tuesday July 16.

The brand had been looking for an appropriate site for a free-standing, full-service restaurant in the area for some years due to the district’s growth, says Simon Kenny a McDonald’s New Zealand spokesperson, adding it took several months for the 445 square metre restaurant to be built once the 3000 square metre site was cleared.

The 74-seat restaurant includes a McCafé and double height playland, along with 25 car parks, and a dual lane “Drive-Thru”.

 The restaurant operates 24/7, and excluding the land cost, the building and equipment investment was about $7 million.

 “We were delighted to welcome our closest residential neighbours as our first ever customers,” says the spokesperson.

“They’d waited patiently since 4.30am to officially place the first order at McDonald’s Kumeu when we opened at 6am.”

The first few days since opening have been above expectation, and feedback has been really positive, says the spokesperson, adding that Kumeu is the 17th of the company-owned restaurants in Auckland.

Westgate McDonald’s is also company owned, and the nearest to the new Kumeu restaurant, training many of the Kumeu McDonald’s staff and management.

The Kumeu McDonald’s restaurant is the first in New Zealand to feature a new interior design look and feel, and the exterior was orientated to meet the Auckland Council’s urban design requirements around a ’street activated building’.