hindesky Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 Reddit Houston u/lolunix posted this pic of the fenced off McDonald's. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEES?! Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 (edited) 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 by BEES?! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 THIS IS A MIRACLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookey23 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 (edited) 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 by bookey23 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortune Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Is this the Mcdonalds with the no dine-in option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEES?! Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 6 minutes ago, Fortune said: Is this the Mcdonalds with the no dine-in option? Indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) 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 by phillip_white 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 A part of me feels all they're going to do is remodel the store Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loon Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loon Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyc05 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEES?! Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amlaham Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyc05 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 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 😂 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 McDonalds is more of a real estate company than a slop seller 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 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. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loon Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 If the greyhound really goes like is being said that it is for sale now... that would be a nice addition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 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). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntheKnowHouston Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 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. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 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. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 (edited) 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 by SpaceGhost 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntheKnowHouston Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) 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 by IntheKnowHouston 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) 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 by Houston19514 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntheKnowHouston Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 11 hours ago, Houston19514 said: 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. Not necessarily. I've seen a few McDonald's appear permanently closed in my neighborhood, but were later rebuilt from the ground up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntheKnowHouston Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 In today's Houston Chronicle article regarding the sale of the Greyhound Bus property at 2121 Main St, there is mention of the McDonald's property at 2017 Main St. "Sarem Soudagar, a franchisee who previously operated that McDonald’s location, said the restaurant had seen a dip in foot traffic post-COVID. His father, Rafiq Soudagar, also mentioned high levels of unhoused people present on the property generated additional challenges for the business. The two do not own the land itself, the son said, and the future of the site would be determined by McDonald’s. A McDonald corporate spokesperson confirmed the restaurant closure but did not respond to request for comment about their plans for 0.77-acre parcel, which has an appraised value of $3 million." https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/greyhound-mcdonalds-midtown-houston-skypark-pierce-17742026.php 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 I looked into the Automated White Settlement McDonald's, as I had seen the store it replaced, but was unsure who owned it. It was a McDonald's Express operating out of a Chevron station https://goo.gl/maps/LF8yKESgDPZXUewm8 In this case it was Chevron and later Tetco who owned that property. 7-Eleven seems to have been responsible for closing the store in 2017, and McDonald's purchased the site last year in preparation for the new store. Prior to this I had assumed that McDonald's owned this property as they did with most other Chevron co-locations. This does make the future a bit murkier, as I had figured McDonald's already owned the White Settlement land. To add to the oddness, a rather prominent McDonald's on Barton Springs Road has also closed in a similar circumstance. https://goo.gl/maps/ovk3yBszmb3Wwks47 Google lists it a Temporarily Closed, and the McDonald's website still lists it as open, no one will comment what's going on there either. Finally, looking into the franchise owners, they've been with Mickey D's for a while, and have shut down at least one location (North Loop East at Maxwell) prior to this one. That location did seem to be replaced by a spot in the Pilot Truck stop on Maxwell. Most of their stores are in and around the Jacinto City area. They picked this one up in 2016, and shut it down about a month after taking over another in Pasadena. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post McD.land Posted January 31 Popular Post Share Posted January 31 My team has the Greyhound site at 2121 Main listed on the market. Lease expires Oct 2024. We are meeting with McDonalds this week to discuss the site as it is definitely closed. 8 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amlaham Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 16 minutes ago, McD.land said: My team has the Greyhound site at 2121 Main listed on the market. Lease expires Oct 2024. We are meeting with McDonalds this week to discuss the site as it is definitely closed. Typically, do tenants leave months before their lease expires or is it usually right when the lease expires? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McD.land Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 5 minutes ago, Amlaham said: Typically, do tenants leave months before their lease expires or is it usually right when the lease expires? They should be out when the lease is up. And my understanding is they are willing to exit early. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Any rumors in where Greyhound will go? There are intercity bus facilities in East Downtown. Would that work? You want an easily accessible bus terminal but not an eyesore. It's a delicate balance. You can't just put a bus terminal out in the prairie as some have hinted. I sometimes take long haul buses, and you don't want to be dumped in a suburban strip mall. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McD.land Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Our understanding is that they are moving to a curbside concept, probably leasing a presence in several locations (maybe hotels) and not having a big terminal or station anymore....which is not financially effective for what they do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookey23 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 What does your team do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kennyc05 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 I was shocked at how quickly that the big McDonalds pole sign came down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 1 hour ago, McD.land said: Our understanding is that they are moving to a curbside concept, probably leasing a presence in several locations (maybe hotels) and not having a big terminal or station anymore....which is not financially effective for what they do. This works great for Megabus. They rent a lot across from the Metro downtown bus terminal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 14 minutes ago, phillip_white said: This works great for Megabus. They rent a lot across from the Metro downtown bus terminal. And FlixBus, who know owns Greyhound, does the same. Although I thought I read Megabus was moving? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McD.land Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 2 hours ago, bookey23 said: What does your team do? My team? We are the listing brokers at Cushman Wakefield. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 1 hour ago, wilcal said: And FlixBus, who know owns Greyhound, does the same. Although I thought I read Megabus was moving? I hadn't heard that, but it would be disappointing if true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Megabus moved out of the parking lot near the Metro building almost a year ago, though they may still use the curb as a stop for some of their routes. Flix bus still uses a parking lot nearby on Gray but there are no facilities (ticket office, waiting room, etc). From my experience in other cities, the curb works well for the bus company but transfers a lot of issues (litter, traffic, vagrancy, crime) to the neighborhood without any identifiable party in charge. That's why some cities prohibit curbside pickups. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 3 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said: Megabus moved out of the parking lot near the Metro building almost a year ago, though they may still use the curb as a stop for some of their routes. Flix bus still uses a parking lot nearby on Gray but there are no facilities (ticket office, waiting room, etc). From my experience in other cities, the curb works well for the bus company but transfers a lot of issues (litter, traffic, vagrancy, crime) to the neighborhood without any identifiable party in charge. That's why some cities prohibit curbside pickups. Wow, you're right. They moved the downtown location to the Hillcroft Park & Ride lot. This effectively removes this as a convenient option for me, although I haven't used the service since 2019 due to covid. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post McD.land Posted February 2 Popular Post Share Posted February 2 MCDONALD'S is working on permits to take the building down asap. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted February 7 Author Share Posted February 7 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB_Brendan Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 On 1/5/2023 at 4:16 PM, 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. Hey, those golden arches are comedic relief when going down 45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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