RAMONA, Calif. — For years, people in Ramona have been asking when the famed McDonald's on Main Street is reopening.
It's a story CBS8 has been Working for You on since last year when viewers first reached out asking about its fate.
“The looks of everything, you know, it’s like every time you drive by, I work out right here, I have to see it every day. All the residents see it and it makes our community look like crap,” said Misty, who has lived in Ramona for 3 years.
The blighted McDonald’s building had been in a sad state of disrepair for several years now and the community was tired of it.
“I’ve reached out to corporate McDonald’s and absolutely no feedback whatsoever,” said Misty. “And I’m just sick and tired of it and I know all the residents here in Ramona are as well.”
In August 2021, a fire broke out in the basement at this location at 1550 Main Street. No employees or customers were injured, and firefighters put it out quickly. Nearly three years later, the restaurant is still closed.
“It’s ugly, it doesn’t add anything to Ramona and it’s really sad,” said Lynn Hopewell, a longtime Ramona resident and member of the Ramona Design Review Board. “The graffiti on the building needs to be painted over and the fence cloth is all torn apart.”
Hopewell said the owner’s construction plans were approved by the local review board in September 2022. But since then, progress has been stagnant.
CBS 8 reached out to McDonald’s corporate in 2023 and they shared a statement from the owner Sean Piazza.
“We are just as excited as our loyal customers to re-open the 1550 Main Street restaurant and continue our decades long tradition of serving the Ramona community. Once we receive county approval of our construction plans, we anticipate construction will take a few months before we’re able to re-open our doors. We look forward to welcoming our customers back soon.”
The County’s Planning and Development Services Department showed CBS 8 a detailed timeline for the last year’s permitting process for this location. It showed that the County has been responsive to the permit application, but the applicant has delayed for months at a time in making needed corrections.
Fast forward to now - the building has been repainted, and the inside appears redone.
CBS8 reached out to the owner, and through a McDonald's spokesperson, he released a statement saying:
"We are so grateful to Ramona residents, who are equally excited as we are to reopen our Ramona McDonald's location. Our team has been working diligently to meet all the requirements necessary to reopen and welcome our dedicated employees and our customers back as quickly as possible. Based on our current timeline, we plan to be able to open our doors in the month of august, and we look forward to celebrating that milestone with the whole community."
At CBS 8, we are always Working for You and our community. This is a station promise that we will go the extra mile to solve a problem our audience can’t solve themselves. We want to hear your ideas on how we can cover and help our community. If you have a story idea, please email us at workingforyou@cbs8.com.
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