Las Vegas Weekly

December 4, 2008 · 11:21 AM

We’re lovin’ it: A super-sized McDonald’s on the Strip and a TV channel!

By Robin Leach

A rendering of the new McDonald's on the Strip.

Photo: Preferred Public Relations

It’s like no other Mickey Dee’s on Earth! In fact, when the new 8,600-square-foot Viva McDonald’s opens a week from today, it will not only be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, but the Las Vegas Strip location also will be the showcase for the new McDonald’s TV channel.

Vegas DeLuxe has a first look at the artist’s renderings and photos -- as you would expect!

Next Thursday’s grand-opening, red-ribbon ceremonies will feature our merry Mayor of Mirth Oscar Goodman and Harrah’s entertainer and magician Mac King. At the same time, the lights will be turned out on a legacy as the next door, old-fashioned McDonald’s will close after 25 years on the Strip!

Top McDonald’s executives are traveling to Vegas from company headquarters for the event at the heart of the famed Strip. Comedy conjurer Mac has promised to do the first hour of counter duty at the new Viva McDonald’s, and 100 percent of his sales proceeds will go to the Ronald McDonald House Charities here in Vegas.

There are 13,700 McDonald’s restaurants throughout the United States -- of which more than 80 percent are independently owned -- but this is the debut of the very first company-owned Viva McDonald’s.

Brian Unger, senior VP of McDonald’s, told us: “We see this as a showcase restaurant that people will talk about for years to come. Viva McDonald’s is a unique, fun dining experience in a one-of-a-kind restaurant that can only be found in Las Vegas.”

The technology-inspired restaurant will be open 24 hours a day seven days a week. It’s the first location to debut the new McDonald’s Channel that features unique programming in short vignettes from Animal Planet, Science Channel, TLC and the Discovery Channel. Four large 8-foot-by-8-foot video screens and a Jumbotron video marquee have been built into the exterior of the new food emporium, and inside there’s a 14-screen media ring suspended in the two-story, open-ceiling dining room. Customers also get Wi-Fi service for the first time!

In addition to those tasty trademark burgers and fries, Viva McDonald’s also features a McCafe. A new, state-of-the-art, all-electric kitchen with six platen grills features a low oil volume fryer and a line of McCafe espresso coffees including mochas, cappuccinos and lattes.

During construction, the crews discovered several layers of sidewalk dating back to the 1930s -- and as a result, to maintain history, the land now sits more than 6 feet higher than it did when construction first began seven decades ago. McDonald’s is also the first property to actually widen the Strip, adding one lane to the roadway for traffic!

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