McDonald’s has unveiled its new flagship store in Chicago, which looks more like an Apple store than it does a fast food chain. The store is the latest in a line of newly designed restaurants in what the international chain is calling the ‘experience of the future’.
The new restaurant includes an enclosed glass arboretum in the middle of the 176m2 restaurant, with drop-down ladders allowing access to the plants. Solar panels on the roof will provide power to 60 percent of the restaurant. McDonald’s has about 10 LEED-certified restaurants in America, and the new Chicago location will be the highest rated of them all.
McDonald’s senior director of global design and development, Max Carmona, said that McDonald’s was planning on modernising while at the same time avoiding being sterile. The new concept replaced the ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ style of the previous incarnation, and will eliminate person-to-person contact and will allow almost unlimited customisation. While kiosks will replace people taking orders, table service will still be available.
