It is not the first drive-thru only from McDonald's in the city. That honour goes to Pembina Highway which also became the first 24 hour location in Canada. This however will be the first drive-thru that is heavily automated as well as have storage lockers for delivery people. There are presently two other location in North America like the one proposed for Winnipeg. One is in Fort Worth and one is in Los Angeles.
The location at Kenaston at Grant in the Real Canadian Superstore parking lot right at the corner that turns east down Grant. It will require some zoning changes to operate longer hours but Councillors don't seem alarmed by the proposal. The spot being looked at is where the garden centre has usually gone. I have no idea if it will be relocate to another area for seasonal sales.
Social media has been mixed on the possible traffic to the area, an American restaurant expanding, quality of the food and a few other things. Some thought it would be helpful for pick-ups in River Heights and Tuxedo. Others thought it would be good for deliveries. Those people who hated McDonald's are not about to change their minds. Those that hate traffic will continue to hate it. There is nothing wrong with having an opinion about it.
River Heights is a food and grocery desert as is a Tuxedo. So much is beyond walking distance for as little as coffee. And certainly there are hardly any options for 24 hour locations for the thousands working shift work in parts of the city. Aside from 7/Eleven which are not drive-thru, where do the people go for those super early morning family hockey travels, late night flights and the like?
I am not entirely sure how traffic flow will be inside the Superstore parking lot. As some people pointed out, it is up to the grocery store to figure out. As long as the traffic doesn't line up on the public road, city zoning people seem satisfied. And the McDonald's itself is on the farthest corner away from apartments.
The delivery system has multiple competitors such as Skip and Uber among others. People in Winnipeg are avid fans but some companies like McDonald's might find it more convenient to have a place such as the new Kenaston location where drivers pick up orders at lockers where items are slid through to the kitchen to the lockers that open to the parking lot. It is very popular in the United States. This can make other McDonald's less crowded with drivers waiting at the counter.
The local franchise owner in Winnipeg says the new drive-thru will be about 1,800+ square feet. He also mentioned 80 new workers but it is unclear if that was across all his locations or just Kenaston. With Kapyong under development the next few years, this is probably not the last restaurant or drive-thru to go up. It may not even be the last McDonald's.
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