White Castle Gets Modern
Does this building look familiar? Sure, it does. It could be a Taco Bell, a McDonald's, or most any modern QSR. It seems the different chains are all building an interchangeable building that could be converted to any brand if the original restaurant doesn't work out. On this one, all they'd have to do is change the signage, take down those metal trim pieces on the roof, and you're ready to serve Whoppers.
4 comments:
While McDonald's doesn't have to worry about financing buildings, franchisees with other brands might have an easier time arranging financing for a very generic building rather than one that screams "sliders".
Lenders always have to worry about what they'd do with their collateral if the loan goes bad.
The same could be said about a contemporary McDonald's building. The private REITs that finance or own the new McDonald's buildings don't want to be stuck with a building with a mansard roof or unique architecture if the location fails.
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Note on the bottom photo - the building sign changes to "Night Castle" at dusk.
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When McD sells a building, there is a clause attached to the deed and in the sales contract specifying that the building may NOT be used as a fast food (QSR) restaurant.
That was certainly the practice in years back. These days that could kill a deal and /or devalue the property. This management team is different. They're not all that interested in the long term, so I wonder if they haven't scratched that?If we had the information, I think we'd find that most of the liquidation of MCD properties has been where the value is in the dirt, not the building. For instance, in many cases, a MCD store is not the highest and best use of the land. It might be more valuable as a ten-story office building or as 30 condominiums.
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