Remodeling McDonald's

Your Boulevardier notes that the McDonald's on Castro Valley's Fast Food Island is closed for remodeling. This event has been in the planning stages for years, it seems. This morning a cold steel fence kept all but the birds from visiting the Golden Arches. And because the restaurant was not being patronized, and the fries and burger buns on which the pigeons and seagulls had, in the past, feasted were not forthcoming, so the avian scavengers had precious little to do. One telling note as to the abruptness of the property's fencing: copies of USA Today remain in the newsrack by the restaurant's door.

Deep in the recesses of Your Boulevardier's memory, he can recall eating at this restaurant when it was brand new. The building was covered with white tile, and sported several red concrete outdoor tables in lieu of indoor dining then. The structure was spanned by the trademark aureate arcs. The hamburgers cost, if memory serves, twenty-nine cents.

Over the years, the building expanded as its real estate morphed. The playplace was added, and a section of the dining area was segregated as a party room. (Neveau de Boulevardier celebrated at least one birthday there.) The establishment's parking lot grew dramatically, even as the freeway and its offramps encroached.

Automobiles have always been the preferred mode of access to McDonald's, it seems, and pedestrians such as Your Boulevardier took some risks in attempting to walk to the place -- what with motorists juggling too-hot coffee, filing their change, shushing the youngsters, and, oh yes, driving their cars from the drive-through.

But one can say what one will about McDonald's -- Your Boulevardier has concerns about its business practices and the health value of its products -- but the company has maintained its Castro Valley property well through all the changes. On a survey mission this morning, Your Boulevardier noted the lush green lawns, carefully trimmed shrubbery, and crimson Pistache trees along the property's perimeter. Let us hope that the new structure adds some architectural interest and other thoughtful touches, since this site is, for better or worse, one of the gateways to our town.




Postscript, unrelated: On a walk to Valley Java this morning, Your Boulevardier noted that gasoline at the Shop 'N' Save on Stanton Avenue has dipped one tenth of a cent below $2 per gallon.