By Lisa Tindell – news reporter

 

City officials, business leaders and staff of McDonald’s filled the dining room of the newly-completed McDonald’s restaurant in the Rivercane development Thursday evening for a VIP tour of the new facility.

Abraham Maghsoud, owner and operator of the newest of his 14 restaurants, said he was pleased with the events of the day.

“We are happy to be in Atmore and this is our way of saying thank you to our business leaders,” Maghsoud said. “It’s been a great day.”

The day began when the restaurant opened during lunch time offering up typical McDonald’s menu items to the public, free of charge.

“We were open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today with free lunch to say thank you to Atmore,” Maghsoud said. “It was our way of saying thank you to the community and making the community feel good about us. We always want to do something for the city.”

In addition to saying thank you to the city, Maghsoud said the lunch event was a chance for staff to become acquainted with how the restaurant would operate in the coming days.

“We were packed during that time,” Maghsoud said. “It was a great opportunity for everyone to get experience and get a feel for how things would be for the next few days. We had some very large orders and it was great experience.”

The grand opening event for the area will be held Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Maghsoud said Ronald McDonald, musicians and other entertainment will be seen throughout the three day event for a grand opening celebration.

The store, which began construction just over two months ago, will be open for breakfast lunch and dinner following ribbon cutting on Friday. The restaurant is located on Alabama 21 North in the Rivercane development near the Wind Creek Casino and Hotel.