McDonald's At 2017 Main St.

[hindesky]

Reddit Houston u/lolunix posted this pic of the fenced off McDonald's.

[BEES?!]

Hold the phone, is this coming down? 
 

(I had a good laugh at one of the comments- “I hope we’re not losing another Houston staple” 😂😂)

Edited January 4, 2023 by BEES?!

[j_cuevas713]

THIS IS A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bookey23]

Google says the midtown McDonalds is "Temporarily Closed." Anyone know if this property has changed hands or if there are any demo permits? The Greyhound station just changed hands next door... Would be a monumental change.

 

Edit: Someone on the Reddit thread says they saw a dumpster outside today and the golden arches were taken off. This might actually be happening

Edited January 4, 2023 by bookey23

[Fortune]

Is this the Mcdonalds with the no dine-in option? 

[BEES?!]

6 minutes ago, Fortune said:

Is this the Mcdonalds with the no dine-in option? 

Indeed

[Ross]

Property is owned by McDonalds Corporation, which bought the property, formerly Block 422 SSBB in 1980 from the heirs of the previous owner. In 2000, the property was replatted to an unrestricted reserve and renamed McDonald's Maiin at Gray.

There's no sale recorded recently, nor are they any new permits.

[phillip_white]

1 hour ago, Fortune said:

Is this the Mcdonalds with the no dine-in option? 

1 hour ago, BEES?! said:

Indeed

Is this a recent thing? I was inside a few years ago and a homeless gentleman gave the option to choose from a menu item or the raw steaks he was holding. 😆 

Edited January 5, 2023 by phillip_white

[j_cuevas713]

A part of me feels all they're going to do is remodel the store

[loon]

 

 

Hi, u/lolunix here. The arches are gone, the drive thrus are gone, and all signage is off the building. It does appear to be going away. 

[Brooklyn173]

I must have been right behind you. I spoke to one of the workers and asked if the building was coming down and he said yes. I asked what was next and he just shrugged his shoulders.

 

 

[loon]

nice, thanks for confirming. interesting wonder what would want to be right there.. I have heard rumors in the building that someone is buying up these lots. Same person that recently bought the old Bank of America building is buying others around. That crappy property on travis on the OTHER side of my building got complete inside demo, and they tore down everything that was in the parking lot recently. A company that is trying to lease it , really pushing that it has 50 parking spots. So someone(s) out here taking over these areas. Keep in mind, though, the rumor about the greyhound moving has also been in this building as long as i have haha.. probably for many decades.. so who knows what is really going on. Hence why i came here :D 

[kennyc05]

53 minutes ago, loon said:

nice, thanks for confirming. interesting wonder what would want to be right there.. I have heard rumors in the building that someone is buying up these lots. Same person that recently bought the old Bank of America building is buying others around. That crappy property on travis on the OTHER side of my building got complete inside demo, and they tore down everything that was in the parking lot recently. A company that is trying to lease it , really pushing that it has 50 parking spots. So someone(s) out here taking over these areas. Keep in mind, though, the rumor about the greyhound moving has also been in this building as long as i have haha.. probably for many decades.. so who knows what is really going on. Hence why i came here :D 

The area has tons of potential! Then there's the Cadillac lots as well!

[BEES?!]

3 hours ago, loon said:

 

 

Hi, u/lolunix here. The arches are gone, the drive thrus are gone, and all signage is off the building. It does appear to be going away. 

Welcome to HAIF! 

And to think, I made an offhand joke to my husband about this McDonalds just before you posted that thread on r/Houston! Come to find out later in the day that it’s being fenced off and fixing to be torn down. 

Really crazy that this slipped under the radar. If some big player is really trying to piece land together in the area, I’ll be super curious to see what they intend to do with it. 

[phillip_white]

I don't see McDonald's abandoning this location. Perhaps they are tearing it down and building another of the fully automated stores like the one outside Fort Worth. I hope this guy approves.

 

 

[Amlaham]

For those likes me, I'm definitely most excited about not having to see a giant M driving down the freeway :) Our Skyline just got more beautiful :)

For those that don't understand my view, these giant Ms on a stick are sooo FUGLY. These and the Starbucks ones 🤢. I'm sooo glad Houston took the steps to prevent these types of sticks to appear along our freeways. 

 

 

[kennyc05]

1 hour ago, Amlaham said:

For those likes me, I'm definitely most excited about not having to see a giant M driving down the freeway :) Our Skyline just got more beautiful :)

For those that don't understand my view, these giant Ms on a stick are sooo FUGLY. These and the Starbucks ones 🤢. I'm sooo glad Houston took the steps to prevent these types of sticks to appear along our freeways. 

 

 

 

I see that sign being replaced by a nice huge Burger King sign 😏😏😏 

JK 😂

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

McDonalds is more of a real estate company than a slop seller

[Houston19514]

On 1/5/2023 at 4:08 PM, phillip_white said:

I don't see McDonald's abandoning this location. Perhaps they are tearing it down and building another of the fully automated stores like the one outside Fort Worth. I hope this guy approves.

 

 

That was my first thought as well; that they might just be building a whole new McDonalds.  But I think their practice is generally to NOT remove the freestanding signage in such cases, especially where they may not be able to put up a new sign like the old one...

[Triton]

 

The more I think about it, the more this type of McDonald's makes sense here. There are still people working here obviously but it cuts down that interaction with the "locals" if you will. So they still get to serve but in a safer environment. Seems dystopian but hey... lol

[j_cuevas713]

Didn't we confirm this property was sold though? If they do decide to build another McDonalds, while it would be disappointing, I'd be cool with a redesigned store like what @Tritonposted. 

[Ross]

1 hour ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Didn't we confirm this property was sold though? If they do decide to build another McDonalds, while it would be disappointing, I'd be cool with a redesigned store like what @Tritonposted. 

There is nothing to indicate the property has been sold. As of yesterday(January 12) there are no recorded property transfers on the County Clerk's site.

[loon]

If the greyhound really goes like is being said that it is for sale now... that would be a nice addition. 

[Brooklyn173]

Maybe the worst attempt at journalism that I've ever seen. More of a Google search than any real reporting.

Houston's most infamous McDonald's has finally closed https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/article/Downtown-Houston-McDonalds-Greyhound-bus-station-17724996.php

 

[wilcal]

Yep, really disappointed that there is no real update.

I'm considering trying to message the franchise owner on LinkedIn. He's local and like 30 years old (father owns/has owned several franchises in town).

[IntheKnowHouston]

6 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

Maybe the worst attempt at journalism that I've ever seen. More of a Google search than any real reporting.

Houston's most infamous McDonald's has finally closed https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-culture/restaurants-bars/article/Downtown-Houston-McDonalds-Greyhound-bus-station-17724996.php

 

 

13 minutes ago, wilcal said:

Yep, really disappointed that there is no real update.

I'm considering trying to message the franchise owner on LinkedIn. He's local and like 30 years old (father owns/has owned several franchises in town).

I agree. Ever since that particular reporter was assigned to write about what's trending in local food and bar news, my take is he knows very little about what he's hired to cover. It's telling.

Honestly, when I saw the article and the author, I had a feeling there wouldn't be a real update about the property or any in-depth reporting. And I was right.

It's a shame. Houston Chronicle's dining, style, and real estate coverage has gone downhill in recent years. 

[Brooklyn173]

I was asked to allow my pictures to be use for another site (I had nothing else to do with the story). That site has a MUCH better story about Micky D.

https://houstonhistoricretail.com/?p=14932&preview=1&_ppp=39aaf94794

The Chronicle should be embarrassed.

[SpaceGhost]

12 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

I was asked to allow my pictures to be use for another site (I had nothing else to do with the story). That site has a MUCH better story about Micky D.

https://houstonhistoricretail.com/?p=14932&preview=1&_ppp=39aaf94794

The Chronicle should be embarrassed.

Thank you, I really appreciate that! I have been keeping an eye on the building, and was going to include these details in the next post however I'll give a little update here.

A small excavator was delivered to the site earlier this week, and used for water and sewer disconnects, I think possibly gas service too. The excavator was far too small to do any demolition work though. Interior demolition has been going on, and it's being done in a very careful and calculated manner. Eg: Ceiling tiles removed, but stacked and kept inside. It seems that at least some of the dining room furniture is still in place.

As far as permitting goes, none have been filed that I can find. The property also seems to still be owned by McDonald's, who leases it to the franchisee, which is of course standard practice. The property has as of yet to appear on the McDonald's Realty excess list. So in my opinion there's still a chance we could see McDonald's  reopen here. We'll obviously have to wait and see what exactly happens, but I could see a partial demolition to convert this into a drive-thru only store.

Interestingly the store page is still active. https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/location/tx/houston/2017-s-main/5443.html

Edited January 21, 2023 by SpaceGhost

[IntheKnowHouston]

On 1/20/2023 at 8:19 PM, SpaceGhost said:

The property has as of yet to appear on the McDonald's Realty excess list. So in my opinion there's still a chance we could see McDonald's  reopen here. We'll obviously have to wait and see what exactly happens, but I could see a partial demolition to convert this into a drive-thru only store.

And still, local news outlets continue reporting the Midtown McDonald's as permanently closed without an official confirmation from the burger chain or franchisee.

Here is a blurb about the 2017 Main St property in yesterday's Houston Public Media article:


"The bus station going on sale comes at a time when the McDonald's located on Main Street has closed permanently and the Texas Department of Transportation has plans to reroute the Pierce Elevated freeway. "

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/infrastructure/2023/01/25/442271/an-old-bus-station-for-sale-could-transform-the-area-between-houstons-midtown-and-downtown/ 

 

 

The photo is from the article. The visible sale banner is not for the McDonald's at 2017 Main St.

Edited January 26, 2023 by IntheKnowHouston

[Houston19514]

If they took down all of the golden arches signs, especially that tall one,  I think it's a pretty safe bet the closure is permanent.  AFAIK, their practice is to keep those signs up when they rebuild a location.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Houston19514