A brand new McDonald’s restaurant and drive thru opened its doors in Highbridge for the first time on Wednesday (September 11th).
Following significant investment from local Franchisee Amy Cridland, the restaurant is now open for dine-in, takeaway, drive-thru and click & serve, with delivery coming soon. Opening hours are 6am – 11pm, seven days a week.
The new 75-seater restaurant has already created 70 new full and part time jobs for the local community, with recruitment set to continue.
McDonald’s says the new restaurant features table service, self-ordering kiosks, a large outside patio area and a drive-thru with smart digital menu boards.
The restaurant also has QR codes on the tables which will take customers straight to the McDonald’s App to order.
Amy Cridland, a new McDonald’s Franchisee after 25 years in the business, has opened Highbridge as her first restaurant, and told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We are delighted to open a brand-new McDonald’s restaurant in Highbridge and can’t wait to see customers enjoy our services on offer.”
“It’s particularly exciting to have opened this new restaurant as McDonald’s celebrates its 50th year in the UK! People are at the heart of our business, and we have loved welcoming new employees with the jobs our restaurant has created.”
“We’re committed to investing in opportunities for a mix of all ages, life stages and backgrounds, promoting flexibility and equality.”
With consumers increasingly looking for greater speed, efficiency and choice when ordering their food, the Highbridge restaurant has been built in-line with McDonald’s ambitious ‘Convenience of the Future’ programme. This combines a new layout with the latest technology to create a more seamless and enjoyable experience for customers.
With dedicated areas for the different ways to order, the new restaurant offers a more efficient way to order and provides customers with adequate space to enjoy their meal.
The new kitchen design and a front counter redesign which will create specific areas for different sales channels, meaning more space for customers to enjoy their meal, less congestion around touchscreens, and shorter queues.
The restaurant is also excited to announce the implementation of a series of sustainable innovations as the business works towards its target of achieving net zero emissions across all its restaurants and offices by 2030.
Highbridge features the latest innovations in sustainable building design throughout and the restaurant has been deliberately designed to retain the familiar McDonald’s look and feel. The latest innovations include:
- Roof mounted solar panels to support on-site generation of renewable energy.
- Fully modular building which allows the building to be reused in future.
- Wall lettering from recycled material (including McDonald’s own coffee grounds)
And new trials exclusively starting in Highbridge include:
- Plastic kerbstones made from recycled materials with built in internal drainage to reduce building materials.
The new restaurant is located at Unit B, Oaktree Park, Bristol Road, Highbridge, TA9 4HA.
The first customer, pictured below, was Ian Cook.
