Demolition begins on first Q-C McDonald's

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By Jennifer DeWitt | Monday, September 18, 2006 11:49 PM CDT | () comments

Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES Workers from Coopman Trucking and Excavating began demolition Monday on the original McDonald’s on Moline’s Avenue of the Cities. A new McDonald’s will be built in its place.

More than just a building came tumbling down Monday in Moline — a piece of history began to disappear as a demolition crew tore into what had been the original Quad-City McDonald’s restaurant.

First built in 1958, the McDonald’s on Avenue of the Cities is coming down to make way for a new McDonald’s. Construction is expected to begin next week on the new building.

Built as Store Number 90 back when Ray Kroc’s hamburger empire was in its infancy, the store was rebuilt in 1974.

“They built the brown brick around the original store and added the dining room,” current owner Jim Freyberger said. “So the original building was always there. They did that to a lot of them. They never thought to knock it down.”

But the building — and many others — are beginning to show their age, he said. “I think we’re going to rebuild a lot of McDonald’s. A lot of them are 40 and 50 years old.”

Freyberger owns eight McDonald’s, including five in the Quad-Cities. He said this is his second rebuilding project. His company, F&F Investments, located in offices behind the Moline restaurant, recently rebuilt one of its two Cedar Falls, Iowa, stores.

The company also owns the McDonald’s in Vinton, Iowa. In the Quad-Cities, he owns three in Moline and two in Rock Island.

Nearly a $1 million project, the new Moline store is being built by Madison, Wis.-based contractor McKee. Demolition is being done by Coopman Excavating, Moline. The site is expected to reopen in mid-December.

Freyberger said the new restaurant will be larger than the previous one, though most of the space being gained is on the kitchen side with larger storage and freezer space. The restaurant’s capacity will only expand by about 10 to seat about 80 patrons.

Freyberger has owned the restaurant since 1984, and is well aware of its claim as the oldest McDonald’s in the Quad-Cities. It was built at about the same time as the former McDonald’s on Brady Street in Davenport and the existing store on Rock Island’s 11th Street. “That was the original three, and they were all built within a year of each other,” he said.

His new store will have a different theme — with the only Golden Arches outside on the sign. “It doesn’t look like a McDonald’s,” he said, adding that franchisees are allowed to determine the interior décor.

As the restaurant is being rebuilt, his 48-person staff is being transferred to his other restaurants in order to keep them working. “We want to try to keep as many as we can,” he said, adding that he expects to expand with another 15 jobs once the new restaurant opens.

Jennifer DeWitt can be contacted at (563) 383-2318 or jdewitt@qctimes.com.