Update August 22, 2008 - Here's how it looks todayThe demolition of the neighborhood McDonalds’s in Mentor, Ohio, on Mentor Avenue (US Route 20), began today. I spent some time watching and recording some of it. For a fleeting moment, as the roof was starting to peel away, I swear I smelled burgers and french fry oil. I didn’t eat there very often, as many times just driving by the place you could smell burgers cooking, so much so that it felt like you were eating one. At least the smell didn’t have the calories that are in the food itself!
Don’t despair, junk food junkies. Another McDonald’s is being built in its place. Some information about this story from the Lake County News Herald is listed below the videos.
McDonald’s Demolition Part 1
McDonald’s Demolition Part 2
Going, going ... gone
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 12:52 AM EDT
By Jenny May
It took just three hours to auction off 43 years of Mentor history on Tuesday.
About 30 people attended the bidding at the McDonald’s at 8775 Mentor Ave., hoping to score deals on restaurant equipment or just bring a piece of nostalgia into their homes.
The restaurant, which was built in 1965, will be demolished Thursday and will reopen in late December to make way for a new restaurant prototype.
Ali Mandovi, owner and operator of the McDonald’s, is donating the nearly $4,000 in proceeds from the auction to the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.
Interested bidders arrived at the restaurant about 9 a.m. to get a glimpse of what was being offered before the auction began at 10 a.m.
Auctioneer Roger Steinfurth of Wayne Luoma Auction Co. in Mentor ran the event. Steinfurth said restaurant auctions are typically only open to those in the restaurant business.
Because this one was open to the public, many of the items that would normally be auctioned off in bulk, such as tables, chairs and paintings, were offered individually.
“We were told there are a lot of people who have been coming here for 40 years and want to buy their favorite table,” Steinfurth said to the crowd before bidding started. “This is the first McDonald’s we’ve ever auctioned, so it’s a test run for all of us.”
Though many in attendance had never participated in an auction, they caught on quickly to Steinfurth’s fast-paced pitches and managed to snag many of the items they came for.
Accepted bids ranged from $1 for napkin holders to more than $1,000 for a cooler.
Mentor resident Dawn Freeman came to buy items for a house her son recently purchased.
She managed to outbid others for a set of four hanging green lights, which she bought for $15 each, a napkin holder featuring the McDonald’s logo and the crown molding running the perimeter of the dining area.
Freeman was disappointed when she lost a bid for the large mirror hanging in the dining area. The mirror, etched with “Mentor Ohio Original Inn,” went to another local resident for $30.
“I’ve been to this McDonald’s a thousand times and I thought it would be fun to get some of the items for the house,” Freeman said. “I’m really pleased with the crown molding. I paid just $75 for that, so it was a great deal.”
In addition to the contents of the kitchen, dining room and rest rooms, people bought the outside parking lot lights and even the bushes in front of the building.
Elaine Crane, owner of Rider’s Inn in Painesville, bought a four-door reach-in stainless steel cooler for about $1,000.
“One of my coolers just died yesterday, so this will replace it,” she said. “Shopping at auctions helps us keep our prices low. It’s also fun because you get to see other people in the industry.”
Crane also couldn’t resist purchasing two cookie racks featuring the McDonald’s logo for her daughter, Elizabeth Courtney Crane-Sherman, who is co-owner of the Inn.
“Those will be a housewarming gift for her,” Crane explained.
“She used to work at this McDonald’s and has been coming here since she was 5 years old, so I think she’ll get a kick out of it.”
Check out my blog home page for the latest information, here.
Don’t despair, junk food junkies. Another McDonald’s is being built in its place. Some information about this story from the Lake County News Herald is listed below the videos.
McDonald’s Demolition Part 1
McDonald’s Demolition Part 2
Going, going ... gone
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 12:52 AM EDT
By Jenny May
It took just three hours to auction off 43 years of Mentor history on Tuesday.
About 30 people attended the bidding at the McDonald’s at 8775 Mentor Ave., hoping to score deals on restaurant equipment or just bring a piece of nostalgia into their homes.
The restaurant, which was built in 1965, will be demolished Thursday and will reopen in late December to make way for a new restaurant prototype.
Ali Mandovi, owner and operator of the McDonald’s, is donating the nearly $4,000 in proceeds from the auction to the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland.
Interested bidders arrived at the restaurant about 9 a.m. to get a glimpse of what was being offered before the auction began at 10 a.m.
Auctioneer Roger Steinfurth of Wayne Luoma Auction Co. in Mentor ran the event. Steinfurth said restaurant auctions are typically only open to those in the restaurant business.
Because this one was open to the public, many of the items that would normally be auctioned off in bulk, such as tables, chairs and paintings, were offered individually.
“We were told there are a lot of people who have been coming here for 40 years and want to buy their favorite table,” Steinfurth said to the crowd before bidding started. “This is the first McDonald’s we’ve ever auctioned, so it’s a test run for all of us.”
Though many in attendance had never participated in an auction, they caught on quickly to Steinfurth’s fast-paced pitches and managed to snag many of the items they came for.
Accepted bids ranged from $1 for napkin holders to more than $1,000 for a cooler.
Mentor resident Dawn Freeman came to buy items for a house her son recently purchased.
She managed to outbid others for a set of four hanging green lights, which she bought for $15 each, a napkin holder featuring the McDonald’s logo and the crown molding running the perimeter of the dining area.
Freeman was disappointed when she lost a bid for the large mirror hanging in the dining area. The mirror, etched with “Mentor Ohio Original Inn,” went to another local resident for $30.
“I’ve been to this McDonald’s a thousand times and I thought it would be fun to get some of the items for the house,” Freeman said. “I’m really pleased with the crown molding. I paid just $75 for that, so it was a great deal.”
In addition to the contents of the kitchen, dining room and rest rooms, people bought the outside parking lot lights and even the bushes in front of the building.
Elaine Crane, owner of Rider’s Inn in Painesville, bought a four-door reach-in stainless steel cooler for about $1,000.
“One of my coolers just died yesterday, so this will replace it,” she said. “Shopping at auctions helps us keep our prices low. It’s also fun because you get to see other people in the industry.”
Crane also couldn’t resist purchasing two cookie racks featuring the McDonald’s logo for her daughter, Elizabeth Courtney Crane-Sherman, who is co-owner of the Inn.
“Those will be a housewarming gift for her,” Crane explained.
“She used to work at this McDonald’s and has been coming here since she was 5 years old, so I think she’ll get a kick out of it.”
Check out my blog home page for the latest information, here.
