This fast-food chain might be expanding in Tacoma. Here are the details proposed so far
Those familiar golden arches could appear in the future at the corner of Pacific Avenue and South 38th Street in Tacoma.
A pre-application was filed Monday with the City of Tacoma proposing a new McDonald’s on a vacant parcel at 3801 Pacific Ave.
The proposed initial site plan shows the property accommodating a restaurant and drive-thru, 47 parking stalls and detention/infiltration pond to handle stormwater.
The proposal set a tentative date in February for submission of actual permits for the project, and a tentative date in June to start construction, though dates often change from initial estimates if the proposal moves forward.
The project’s value was estimated at $1 million.
Further details on Monday were limited, and McDonald’s corporate media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There are 10 McDonald’s in Tacoma, according to the chain’s website. Some of the other Tacoma McDonald’s sites have also filed permits with the city this year.
Various tenant improvement permits were submitted for restaurants at 4814 Center St. and 802 Tacoma Ave. S. earlier this year.
This is not the first proposal for the Pacific Avenue property. Plans were filed earlier this year for a potential 7-Eleven/fuel station, according to city records on file.
The possible expansion and local site improvements for the McDonald’s restaurants stand in stark contrast to fast-food competitor Jack In The Box, which saw four of its sites in Tacoma and one in Lakewood close this fall and run afoul of code compliance regulations at the closed Tacoma sites. (several Jack in the Box locations remain open in Pierce County, including five in Tacoma.)
McDonald’s “Accelerating the Arches” growth plan, refined at the end of last year, calls for “Surpassing 50,000 restaurants globally by the end of 2027.”
The rise in development of various chicken chain restaurants in Tacoma might be fueling McDonald’s latest expansion proposal.
In July, McDonald’s Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski said that the company’s acceleration plan remained the “right playbook,” and that McDonald’s remained “focused on the outstanding execution of delivering reliable, everyday value and accelerating strategic growth drivers like chicken and loyalty.”
A corporate report from this summer stated that McDonald’s “chicken sales are now on par with beef sales.” McDonald’s promoted a Chicken Big Mac this fall, and next year will re-introduce specialty Snack Wraps.
However, it’s not been all positive headlines for the chain this year.
McDonald’s this fall was linked to an E. coli outbreak tied to a supplier of onions used in its Quarter-Pounder sandwich. The outbreak included 104 reported cases across 14 states, including Washington, and one death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared the outbreak over in early December.
