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Fresh off of a nationwide worker strike against bad labor practices, McDonald’s has now opened its biggest New York City location yet in Times Square. The fast food chain unleashes a glossy, three-story new location today at 1528 Broadway, at West 45th Street, that will be open 24 hours.
It’s part of the company’s efforts to revamp more than 8,000 restaurants across the country to be more digital, a $10 billion investment called “Experience of the Future.” The Times Square outpost is a “flagship” — presumably an easy way for a wide swathe of people to try and see the new model, which features digital kiosks and mobile ordering.
As such, the company’s going hard on making this location a particularly flashy version of the burger chain. The location seats more than 170 people and encompasses more than 11,000 square feet. All three of the floors include floor-to-ceiling glass walls for, as a press release boasts, “spectacular views” of Times Square. And there’s a huge billboard on top of the property that the company claims is the third biggest one in Times Square.
This location will also be one of the places that will be serving specialties from international outposts of McDonald’s, such as a stroopwafel McFlurry from the Netherlands and the cheesy bacon fries from Australia. It starts on June 5 for a limited run.
It hasn’t been the greatest month for McDonald’s, though. After years of poor labor practice and sexual harassment allegations, anger toward the chain fueled up even more last week with a strike in 13 cities across the country. Celebrities such as Padma Lakshmi and politicians such as Elizabeth Warren to Bernie Sanders have joined in protests.
Employees raised 25 new incidents of sexual harassment, alleging that staffers as young as 16 face behavior such as groping and sexual propositions, as well as retaliation for complaints. In response, McDonald’s CEO said the company has been working on its policies and is encouraging franchises to do so as well.
Eater has requested more info from the company.
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