The first McDonald’s restaurant in Aberdeen to offer customers table service opened yesterday with 80 new jobs created.
The outlet at Kittybrewster Retail Park also has seats for 120 people and boasts the Granite City’s first dual-lane “drive-thru”.
It employs 50 full-time staff members and another 30 part-time.
The restaurant, which took just six weeks to construct once ground work was completed, opened amid a UK-wide recruitment drive by the company.
Across the UK, McDonald’s is aiming to increase its headcount by 5,000 by the end of the year.
The current total exceeds 110,000.
McDonald’s is also in the process of rolling out table service at its restaurants.
Customers at McDonald’s in Kittybrewster can place and pay for their orders using digital, touch-screen kiosks, before deciding whether to collect their food at the counter, or have it delivered straight to their table by a staff member.
McDonald’s franchisee Craig Duncan, who manages the new restaurant, said the initial feedback he had received from patrons showed Aberdeen was ready for table service.
Mr Duncan said: “The customers love it so far – I’m really encouraged. The system removes the hassle for them. It means if you come in with your family you can just order and sit down. It gives you time to get settled down.
“There is a lot of learning for staff to do – a lot of coaching − but we have got the people here to train them.”
The drive-thru splits into two lanes, allowing two motorists to place orders at the same time, before merging back into a single lane for payment and collection.
Mr Duncan said he expected the new restaurant to cash in on its location.
He said Kittybrewster Retail Park was “buoyant” with a lot of residential properties in the surrounding area.
Yesterday’s opening means Mr Duncan now has seven north Scottish McDonald’s restaurants in his portfolio.
He started operating eateries in Fort William and Inverness in 2007 and a year later expanded into Elgin.
In February, he doubled the size of his empire after taking over two franchises in Aberdeen and another in Peterhead.
The total will rise to eight in October with the opening of a new McDonald’s at the Inshes Retail Park in Inverness.
