Fast food in fancy digs

June Casagrande

Plasma screen TV, free Internet access, leather club chairs, swanky

decor. Sound like some upscale new lounge or eatery? In a way, it is.

Welcome to McDonald’s, Fashion Island style.

“We wanted to make it a special restaurant,” said Terry Solon,

owner of the store for about five years.

The remodeled McDonald’s, which had its grand opening on Saturday,

came about after the Fashion Island mall decided to eliminate its

food court and replace it with free-standing restaurants. Solon

decided that, if he was going to remodel, he might as well go all

out.

“At McDonald’s, we have our traditional customer base, and we

wanted to expand it through offering different, creative ideas,”

Solon said. “We came up with a mixture of adult decor and adding some

children’s amenities like an interactive play area.”

New features for kids include a Nintendo game area and a separate

area for birthday parties. Amenities to lure the grown-ups include a

lot of artwork, a plasma screen TV and Internet hookups that will let

business people get a little work done on their lunch hour.

“We’re hoping that business people utilize them on their break --

conduct a little business during lunch,” Solon said. “I really think

we think did a very nice decor in order to attract more customers up

here in a comfortable setting.”

The upscale renovation fits in well with McDonald’s new menu

items, including premium salads and a vegetarian burger.

“It’s really opened up our demographic,” Solon said.