9/15 UPDATE

A new article from the Cedar Rapids Gazette says that the closure of the First Avenue McDonald's was a "financial decision." Owner Kevin O’Brien told The Gazette:

“The building structurally has some significant issues. We were at a decision point with the company (McDonald’s) and, rather than put a lot more money into that site, we decided to close it.”

The good news is that all of the employees at that McDonald's location were offered positions at other area Cedar Rapids and Marion McDonald's. As for the future of the building, Kevin is working with city officials to brainstorm ideas on how they can transform it into something "beneficial to the neighborhood." You can read his full interview with The Gazette HERE.

ORIGINAL STORY

A few days after the derecho hit on August 10th, I was on the hunt for open fast food places. I knew the downtown Cedar Rapids area had power, so I figured the McDonald's on 1st Ave would be open for business. I was surprised to find out that they weren't. About a week later, I tried again. Still no luck. It didn't look like the outside sustained a ton of damage, but I figured that there were some issues that we just couldn't see.

As it turns out, the McDonald's at 1530 1st Ave NE won't be reopening EVER. That's according to Google and the official Facebook page, which both list the location as "permanently closed." I stopped by this morning to double-check, and sure enough, a sign on the door confirmed the news:

Courtlin
Courtlin
loading...

Unfortunately, there is no reason for the closure listed. Was it strictly damage from the derecho, or were they already planning on closing the store for other reasons? There seems to be a bit of a debate about it on the Rally C.A.P. – Champion and Protect Local Business Facebook group, but we can't say for sure.

If you're really desperate for a Big Mac, there are still plenty of other McDonald's locations in the Cedar Rapids area that are still open. Those locations include:

  • 2615 Williams Blvd SW, Cedar Rapids
  • 610 33rd Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids
  • 8905 Runway Ct SW, Cedar Rapids
  • 5200 Edgewood Rd NE, Cedar Rapids
  • 5725 Dry Creek Ln NE, Cedar Rapids
  • 100 6th Ave, Marion

10 Things You've Probably Said If You're From Iowa

More From 98.1 KHAK