New McDonald’s Being Built to Keep Pace with Current Times
and Booming Business
Construction crews work in overdrive at
3307 10th Street, Great Bend, where a new
McDonald's store is quickly taking shape. A
few yards west of the construction chaos,
the vintage McDonald's continues turning
out its signature Big Macs and QuarterPounders in quick fashion, just as it did
when it opened its doors in 1974.
McDonald's remains true to its origins
today, but at the same time, much has
changed from those golden arches days
when the slogan. "Two all beef patties,
special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles,
onions on a sesame seed bun," became a
novel concept for a Big Mac commercial and
cool for kids to say in three seconds.
"The original building was built before
McDonald's had drive-through and before
McDonald's served breakfast," said store
owner Shane Spurlock, who purchased the
store five years ago with the original plan to
tear down and rebuild. "Obviously, that
building has been changed and modified in
order to accommodate for those things.
There does come a certain point, however,
when you recognize that the 33-year-old
building is not designed for the menu items
that we serve in 2007."
Spurlock did, what he terms, a band-aid
remodel of McDonald's in 2003, a year after
he purchased the store. His original
business plan called for the rebuild to occur
New Meets Old – The new McDonald’s
building is constructed alongside the current
store, shown in the background. The old store
will stay open until the end of this month until
it’s time to raze the building to make room for
the new parking lot. The new store will open
in two to four weeks following the old stores
closing. This is the third McDonald’s store that
Spurlock has built. He built his first two in
Kentucky, the first when he was 24 years old,
13 years ago, and the second two years later
in 1996. He has owned nine stores during his
time in the business.
May 2007
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in 2009, however, business has experienced
a sales increase every year for the last five
years, causing capacity issues with freezer
and storage spaces. Facing those problems,
Spurlock moved his plan ahead two years.
The new McDonald's provides 4,900
square feet of space inside and will be
equipped with two drive-through lanes with
two menu boards and two speakers. That's
important because a large portion of
McDonald's business comes from the drive
through, said Spurlock. The double drivethrough will speed up service by allowing
McDonald's to wait on two drive-through
customers at the same time and then merge
them back at the first window to receive
their orders. A computerized cash-register
assistant photographs vehicles to help keep
the orders organized. The inside dining will
offer a more adult-orientated dining room
with plasma TVs in the dining room. Wi-Fi
will soon be available to accommodate
business travelers. The dining room was
designed into three sections: A “fast zone”
for people who want in and out as quickly
as possible; a family zone; and a social
zone. The interior design goal was to have a
“forever young design,” said Spurlock.
Store manager Tami Reeves runs
McDonald's daily operations along with
about 50 employees as construction happens
just outside the current store's east and
"We'll be trying to change
the economics of 10th
Street with our new store,"
said Spurlock. "In the
service industry, we are
always looking for help.
With the new store, we
will hire more employees
and we will offer them
higher wages than our
competitors do in our
immediate trading area."
Couple’s Construction – Kathy and Shane Spurlock stand in the foreground of construction where their McDonald’s store is being built at 3307 10th Street,
Great Bend. The Spurlock’s had their groundbreaking in February to build the 4,900 square-foot McDonald’s. The couple’s daughter, Emily turned the first shovel
full of dirt, while her toddler sister Mackenzie curiously watched. Shane began his career with McDonald’s as a 16-year-old high school student in southern
Illinois. “I’m proud of how I got to where I’m at today,” said Shane about his unwavering career path. Kathy also worked at McDonald’s as a high school and
college student in southern Illinois. After following a career in the bank management field, she returned to the McDonald’s when she married Shane in 2001.
north windows. The store will continue operation until the end of this month, when
McDonald's will close till the end of June. During that closing, construction crews will raze
the old building, fill in the basement, and pave the new parking lot. Ingresses and egresses
will also be reconfigured and constructed. The current entrance on 10th street will become
an entrance/exit; the current exit will be eliminated and the entrance/exit on Harrison will
move further south.
Amid the frazzled pace of constant construction, added to the pressure of operating a
food service business, the process could easily become a game of nerves for Spurlock. But
he doesn’t appear to be stressed or anxious with the process. It's the third project he's
built from the ground up in 13 years. At 24 years old, he built his first McDonald's in
Kentucky in 1994 and then built another store in that state two years later. He's also
owned nine McDonald's stores during his career with the chain that began as a 16-yearold high school student in southern Illinois.
"I've been comfortable with this one," said Spurlock about the building progress.
"Construction always seems to come down to the wire and then it all pulls together in the
final days and hours. I’m not nervous."
He also continues operating his only other McDonald’s in Concordia. He purchased that
one in 2001, which took him from his home-state of Illinois. That's the year he married
Kathy, who left the banking management field to return to a career with McDonald's where
she had worked in high school and college. The Spurlocks and Great Bend store manager
Tami Reeves have a combined 70 years of McDonald's experience between them and they are
positioning their Great Bend store for more growth in the years ahead. "We'll be trying to
change the economics of 10th Street with our new store," said Spurlock. "In the service
industry, we are always looking for help. With the new store, we will hire more employees
and we will offer them higher wages than our competitors do in our immediate trading area."
Window View – A McDonald’s sign on the old building can be seen
through construction and scaffolding in the new building. In the photo,
sheetrock is leaning on the front counter and the view is through a
window of the future dining room. Spurlock did a remodel of the store
after purchasing it a year earlier with the idea that he would rebuild in
2009. With construction well underway, Spurlock has a two-year head
start on his business plan.
Interior Design – Great Bend’s new McDonald’s will have a similar décor package to this McDonald’s recently
constructed in Florida. Spurlock said his new Great Bend store will have the same ceiling, floor tile and color of
seats. Initially, Spurlock wasn’t set on the design until Interior Systems Inc. traveled to the Florida store and took
photos. “They had these packages and all these color swatches,” said Spurlock. “I told them, I have to see what
they look like. They went to Florida and took pictures of it, came back and sold me on the design.”
May 2007
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