‘Raccoon fight, 800 police calls a yr’: 'World's worst' McDonald's to shut down
From drug deals to sexual activities near the toilets, the outlet reportedly made 150 emergency calls to the police in 2022, down from 800 in 2018.
A McDonald’s restaurant in Ottawa, Canada, dubbed the “world’s worst McDonald’s” is shutting shop after 38 years. Located on Rideau Street, the outlet grabbed headlines in 2013 after a viral video showed a man pulling out a raccoon from his sweater amidst a brawl involving over 15 people in the restaurant.
The owner of the building told CTV News that the outlet will officially close in April 2023 as it has decided not to renew the lease. The space will be available for rent from July. From drug deals to sexual activities near the toilets, the outlet reportedly made 150 emergency calls to the police in 2022, down from 800 in 2018.
In 2018, another video showed three men hitting each other with floor signboards. The clip was titled ‘Legendary Rideau McDonald’s’. A customer reviewing the restaurant on TripAdvisor even called it "vomit inducing and dangerous" while a Reddit user, who claimed to be a former manager at the fast food chain’s infamous outlet, alleged that customers even made death threats to staff.
After several unruly episodes, police chief Charles Bordeleau sent a letter to the president and CEO of McDonald's Canada raising concerns over the "criminal activity and social disorder" at the Rideau branch.
The operating time of the 24 hour franchise was then changed from 6 am to 10 pm, with only takeaway, to reduce the violent incidents. Although this didn’t help much, it led to a fall in revenue.
However, building owner Peter Crosthwaite told CTV that the pandemic, freedom rallies and a new subway, which destroyed Rideau street, also contributed to the woes of the restaurant.
Meanwhile, McDonald's will join a growing list of companies that have, in recent months, terminated staff, as the fast food chain may layoff employees in some departments in April, according to CEO Chris Kempczinski,
“We will look to our strategy and our values to guide how we reach those decisions and support every impacted member of the company. We will begin announcing key decisions by April 3,” read a letter from the CEO.