A £1.6m refurbishment of the McDonald’s in Douglas, which will create 20 new jobs, is set to get underway next month.

The additional jobs will bring the total number employed at the restaurant to more than 110 with the makeover set to include additional kiosks and a larger kitchen and order area to speed up service.

The bad news is that the restaurant will close on Monday, September 22 with the drive thru remaining operational until Tuesday, October 7.

The restaurant and drive thru will fully reopen and welcome customers back on Thursday, October 30 which means the island will have to do without a McDonald’s for more than three weeks, which will include the school half-term period.

The refurbishment forms part of McDonald’s restaurant upgrade programme, ‘Convenience of the Future’, which is seeing the brand shake up the way its stores operate across the UK and Ireland business.

McDonald’s says the upgraded 125-seater restaurant has been developed to ‘further enhance the customer experience and keep pace with consumer expectations’ by integrating a new contemporary design with additional kiosks and key layout changes.

As part of the refurbishment, a new kitchen design will see a bigger order assembly area that will allow extra capacity for crew to undertake more orders and serve more quickly than previously.

Improvements have also been made to the crew member room to create a more relaxing and comfortable space for employees.

The Isle of Man restaurant is owned and operated by franchisee Amir Afsar, who also operates 12 McDonald’s restaurants in Ireland.

‘At McDonald’s, we are passionate about feeding and fostering communities,’ Mr Afsar said, ‘and we are looking forward to welcoming our customers back to our new and improved Isle of Man restaurant on October 30 following an extensive six-week refurbishment.

‘Our job is to ensure that every experience is a great one for customers and crew and we are confident that these upgrades will help to deliver a quicker, more seamless and more convenient experience for all.

‘Our significant investment will also pave the way for further innovation across the McDonald’s restaurant estate in the UK and Ireland business operation, allowing us as a brand to adapt to the evolving preferences of our customers and how they order and collect their food.’

The Douglas McDonald’s first opened in 1999 and has remained at its Peel Road site for that period. Despite many UK towns and cities being served by several restaurants, the site remains the island’s only outlet.

There have been issues in the past for the island outlet which has run out of menu items when poor weather has meant supplies have not been able to be shipped in.

The last major makeover at the McDonald’s restaurant took place in October 2016 when it closed for a month. This saw interactive tablets and new kiosks installed and the car park redone.

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