In a world of obesity and fallen economies, what is the last and first thing we would ever need? A McDonald’s.
The McDonald’s Corporation is planning to put in a McDonald’s restaurant, complete with walk-up window, at the corner of Broughton and Jefferson. The plan is to take over the 246 West Broughton St., a building that has been unoccupied for over ten years.
Nikita Carpenter, a second-year film and television major, born and raised in Savannah said, “Here’s Broughton, a main street of our beautiful city, peppering itself with respectable, enjoyable dining spots. It does have a Fuddrucker’s, B&D [Burgers], and Starbucks, which are all chains. But, I can forgive those places because they feel homey. To me, McDonald’s never felt homey. They’ve always been alien with their sterile settings and bleached odor. It’s industrial in the worst sense.”
Adding a McDonald’s to Broughton Street will encourage students, tourists, and the general public to spend their money there as opposed to buying locally. In Savannah, we are always encouraged with signage and ads to “buy local.” The addition of an extremely cheap, low quality fast food walk-up will save money, but add more competition to local restaurants.
As we all know, McDonald’s is not the healthiest option. While it will be the cheapest option, many healthy, reasonably priced foods already exist on Broughton Street. The McDonald’s addition will only add further temptations to buy unhealthy foods.
With plans for a walk-up window, the production of litter will rise. Walking and eating tends to tempt people to toss the trash and walk on. When the trash is inside of a restaurant, it gets swept up piece by piece, but that is not the way it works on a street.
Carpenter explains, “As a native Savannahian, there are a lot changes that I favor and a few that I detest. A McDonald’s on Broughton is well within the latter.”
Concerns and complaints from the community have fallen on deaf ears, however. On April 14, the Savannah’s Historic District Board of Review other approved plans for the McDonald’s when architects changed their plans for the façade. Soon, Broughton Street will have yet another chain restaurant in its ranks.
