New McDonald’s opens off Suncoast Parkway
BROOKSVILLE –
Josh David knows the McDonald’s brand and how to put it within reach of hundreds of thousands burger-craving customers.
On Wednesday, he opened his newest restaurant at 15050 Spring Hill Drive, the 12th McDonald’s his family opened in the last 35 years.
David has enjoyed the rewards of the McDonald’s food his whole life. He loves the menu – particularly the double cheeseburgers – but he preferred to boast more about the company’s local reputation.
“A lot of people think we’re a hamburger business, but we’re a people business first and foremost,” said David. “We’re a people business that serves hamburgers.”
The restaurant is located off the Spring Hill exit of the Suncoast Parkway.
It’s also sits near the parking lots to Kohl’s and Target. It’s a retail center that expects to attract throngs of shoppers between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Early indications are that the upcoming holiday retail season will be noticeably more crowded compared to last year.
Employees of the nearby Airport Industrial Park now have a fast food restaurant a few minutes away. Residents up and down Spring Hill Drive, County Line Road and U.S. 41 have a much closer commute whenever they crave a Big Mac and fries.
“It’s right across the street from me,” said Michael Cooper, who lives in Springwood Estates, a neighborhood directly across the street from the shopping center.
For years Cooper has waited for a fast food restaurant to open near his home, he said. He thinks his neighborhood and those who live eastward toward Masaryktown were neglected until David opened his newest McDonald’s at the Suncoast Crossing Shopping Center.
“It’s good I don’t have to drive all the way to Four Corners anymore,” he said, referring to the Spring Hill and Mariner Boulevard intersection.
The restaurant includes wood paneling and three flat-screen televisions. Two of them will constantly show news and children’s programming. David is still deciding what to show on the third screen.
“This is the closest restaurant anywhere,” said Cara George, a 17-year-old Nature Coast Technical High School student who was the first customer Wednesday morning. “It’s a blessing to have this here.”
Promises were made as far back as early 2008 that one of Hernando County’s newest retail centers would include one or more fast food restaurants.
Once McDonald’s committed, it didn’t take long to build it.
David said the ground-breaking took place in early August. Construction on a medium-sized location like the one at Spring Hill Drive usually takes about 70 days, he said.
David, 32, was born and raised in Brooksville and now lives in Spring Hill. He wanted to extend his business locally for the economic benefits – not just for him and his family, but for the community.
McDonald’s, he said, is known to offer good food for good value. A new restaurant also means new jobs for a region that was hit especially hard by the recession.
“We put 70 people to work and we’re very proud to open up a business and provide job opportunities in the current economy,” he said.
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or .
