Terry Farrell

Record staff

The Cliffe Avenue McDonald鈥檚 had a grand re-opening celebration last weekend, to celebrate the completions of their renovations, and there was plenty to celebrate.

This was far more than a paint job and new tiles.

As owner/operator Stuart Aldred explained, it is a new dining experience.

鈥淲e are making changes to the restaurants, not just here, but all across Canada,鈥� said Aldred, who owns all four McDonald鈥檚 locations in the Comox Valley.

Among the new features are the self-serve kiosks.

鈥淧art of the idea with the new kiosks is we are listening to what our customers are asking for,鈥� added Aldred. 鈥淥ur guests want to be able to customize and do things themselves, but there are still options. If that鈥檚 not what you are looking for, you can still order the way you always have, by walking up to the counter. Our guests have told us that they want us to be contemporary and have that type of technology available to them, so that鈥檚 what we are doing.鈥�

The self-serve kiosks are not meant to replace employees, but rather as a complementary service.

鈥淐omplementing, but also adding. We are actually increasing our staffing,鈥� said Aldred.

鈥淲e have some new positions in the restaurant, including the 鈥榞uest experience leader,鈥� which is essentially like a dining room host. So someone who will be interacting with the guests, when they come in to visit. These are new roles.

鈥淲e are looking to hire another 40 staff members in the next couple of months, not only for that role but for other positions as well. We are nearly at 200 employees 鈥� we have 195 employees in the Comox Valley, and we are trying to bring that up to around 240 people. 鈥�

Aldred said there will be some new menu items coming in the summer, but was tight-lipped as to what they would be.

鈥淲e are always evolving the menu to what our guests are looking for,鈥� he said.

Something new to the Cliffe Avenue location with which Crown Isle customers are already familiar is the McCaf茅 Bakery.

鈥淎ll of our products are baked in-store, every day, whether it be croissants, or Danishes, or pastries鈥� there鈥檚 10 different items to choose from, so it鈥檚 a fantastic product that is very popular with the afternoon snack (crowd),鈥� said Aldred. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had it in the Crown Isle store since the beginning of the new year but now we have it down in the valley too.鈥�

Aldred said the Comox restaurant will be the next location to undergo renovations.