“Ba da ba ba ba” “You’ll love it”

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Ocala Post
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McDonald's on 484, ocala
A Backhoe operator works late into the evening on the first day of demolition. [Click photo to enlarge]
Ocala, Florida — Ocala Post has received dozens of e-mails asking about the McDonald’s on County Road 484.

Well, it’s out with the old and in with a whole new modernized look.

McDonald's 484 Ocala
New modernized look. [Click photo to enlarge]
The biggest concerns from residents seemed to be focused on parking issues and how long morning commuters would have to go without their McCafé.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

The McDonald’s restaurant on County Road 484 closed Sunday night at 11 p.m. and demolition commenced in the early morning hours of July 31, 2014.

The restaurant has had its fair share of traffic, including hundreds of high school kids that have driven through the drive-thru on their way to school for one of those Egg McMuffins everyone loves so much.

Originally opened in July of 1995, it was a small store with a single lane drive- thru, which was typical for communities not densely populated. It was built prior to the I-75 interchange /exit 341 on Hwy 484.

Since that time, the entire area surrounding the interchange has shown tremendous growth and the store has been too small to serve its community and interstate traffic, especially at peak travel times.

Since the erection of the interchange, access in and out of the parking lot had also become compromised . County Road 484 had been raised substantially during the interchange construction 11-12 years ago, which caused the restaurant to sit considerably lower than County Road 484.

McDonald's 484 ocala
Retaining wall in the rear of where the new McDonald’s will be is the beginning of bringing the parking lot to street level.

If you have ever visited the 90s restaurant, then you know how bad the parking situation was. You also know how easy it was to get blocked in if the drive-thru line was backed-up.

McDonald’s owner/operator Lori Findlay, of Ocala, Florida, promises that parking is one of the many issues that will be corrected.

Extensive site work is planned, including raising the restaurant back up to street level. Visibility, customer access, and traffic flow will be much improved.

The construction company working on the project is Venture Construction out of Tampa.

“We are excited to completely rebuild the restaurant to better serve our community,” said Lori Findlay. “The restaurant will re-open prior to the holidays, with a larger, completely modernized interior, brightly lit exterior, two drive-thru lanes, and improved access and traffic flow.”

McDonalds’ agent Gabriel Gibaldi, Account Executive with the DaltonAgency, responded to Ocala Post’s requests immediately.