The oldest McDonald’s restaurant in Ceres – the one on Hatch Road near Highway 99 – is to be demolished in the near future and replaced with a larger structure.
On Monday the Ceres Planning Commission gave its approval to plans to bulldoze the 3,096 square-foot restaurant and replacing it with a new 4,506 square foot restaurant.
The McDonald’s corporation has been working with city staff since March about demolishing their old facility and expanding it. The staff said a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) was needed because of significant changes to the operation, including a two-lane drive-thru approach.
The parking configuration will essentially remain the same with the exception of a new ADA parking space with a pathway to the new building and the elimination of two parking spaces at the north end of the property in order to accommodate the new two-lane drive-thru lanes. Additionally, there will be an added bypass lane along the west end of the property in which the applicant may direct customers to that lane in times when large food orders are received, which will aid in improving on-site vehicle circulation.
Senior Planner James Michaels said he believes the proposal is an improvement for this site and will add an overall attractive building frontage compared to what currently exists for the property.
“Furthermore, the design that has been proposed for the Hatch/Herndon site is consistent with an overall rebranding that McDonald’s is doing within the Central Valley,” he said.
Commissioner Laurie Smith asked about the parking spaces along Hatch Road. Two of them will be removed for the modifications, leaving a total of 21 parking spaces to the east and northeast.
Hala Ibrahim, project manager of PM Design Group, Inc. of American Canyon said that “McDonald’s has made significant changes to the design of their restaurants from the old to the new style both in building and site planning standards. The purpose of the upgrade to the façade and the dining area is to renew the building with some of the branding features of McDonald’s latest design prototype. This will enhance brand recognition and attract customers.”
The building will not have an indoor children’s play room.
Michaels said the existing building has been in Ceres since 1977, but there have been tenant improvements made to the interior and drive-thru in 1994 and 1995.
