I love THIS McDonald’s!! (Yes, I said McDonald’s)…
I know, I know…I am constantly creating appetizers, meals, cocktails, and patisserie using fresh, simple ingredients – BUT, I’m talking about an environment here at this revamped McDonald’s - not food quality.
The McDonald’s on 6th Ave between 14th & 15th streets in Manhattan (Chelsea) is really wonderful!
From the outside, it looks like your average, everyday McDonald’s. But inside, it’s like a trendy Tech-Cafe with no hints of the usual red, orange, and yellow decor. The counters are dimly lit and there are sculptural walls defining certain areas.
It’s like a McDonald’s for grown-ups or a McDonald’s for Today’s Modern Kid. They don’t want Happy Meals (like we use too), they want to plug in their iPods & MacBooks – and here, they can do that while watching cool music videos and movie promos on various HD Flat Screen TVs. There isn’t a “Golden Arch” to be found anywhere inside…not even on the trash receptacles.
The staff wear black (did I just say “staff”?) and they are VERY polite. The bathrooms are also outfitted with a black tile and it looks so modern and smells very clean (a HUGE plus in my book.) The urinals even have a soft spot-light on them, giving them a museum like quality (urinals as “art” if you would) - in a McDonald’s bathroom, could you believe it?
The Laptop Stations at this McDonald’s are sleek and are often filled with teens, students, and business people. They just plug in and and do what they do (there’s free wifi…and by the way, you have to pay nowadays at Starbuck’s for internet connection.) I’ve also seen students doing their homework there (sometimes, I’ll see parents picking their kids up, using the space as a meeting place) and some business owners have been known to hold meetings at the community tables. University sports-teams eat and hang out there too.
You can find me in the lounge-style seating area 4 to 5 times a month, working on “H. Luiz Presents…” or meeting some social-networking colleagues. The chairs are upholstered and so comfortable, the tables are a nice round size (they can fit 2 laptops, 2 mobile phones, 2 blackberrys, open books, plus the food. I like to sit in “this” area, usually by myself with my iPod Touch or even my laptop. I have also witnessed interviews taking place in the same area.
It’s a new look and great place for a young date, socializing with friends, a meeting place, or even a business mini-office where you can hold staff meetings or get a team of creative folks to work on projects.
Now don’t get me wrong. It’s still the same crappy food, filled with who knows what and I don’t really want to promote that aspect of it (although I do LOVE their Sweet Tea.) In a pinch, my family purchases pancakes from the McDonald’s near our home on the weekends when I need to sleep in (can’t they cook me breakfast? Ha!) We like their McCafe coffees too. Of course, our son Jonathan loves their fries (he’s 17.) The McDonald’s near our home has a new “look” too, but it’s more of an updated, sleek look, rather than the lounge look of this one in Chelsea.
Thank goodness that this location in NYC (6th Ave between 14 & 15th streets) is near my health club (work out then eat crappy food? Hmmmmmm.) Right on the corner, I can catch the PATH train home. I can pop in there if an idea hits me for the site, type a few things in, check my emails, drink my Sweet Tea, and update my FaceBook page and Twitter.
Once, when the PATH was delayed (I do believe in email PATHalerts), I popped in this McDonald’s and ”Skyped” with a friend in Australia (we were talking about Serena Williams’ win at the Australian Open…he was actually there in the arena at the Final!) I then received another PATHalert (25 minutes later) stating that the trains were running fine again – I left for home. You see, instead of being stuck in the train station (trapped with hundreds of strangers in a small, confined space) for 25 minutes, I was able to see/hear/communicate with a friend from the “Down Under” and talk about our favorite female athlete. Can you do that at YOUR McDonald’s?? Ha!!
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