Note: A paragraph was deleted at the request of McDonald’s because the burger chain was concerned about something. To explain the concern would defeat the purpose of removing the paragraph. You should know, it was not my decision.

I must disclose that I’ve had two meals under the Golden Arches in the last 15 years. The first was a Big Mac in 2010. The other was a 20-piece-nugget box I had last night as an excuse to scope out the renovation of the downtown location at Losoya and Commerce streets, in the circa-1883 Dullnig Building. The location had been closed for weeks for remodeling and just reopened yesterday.

The result is a picture-perfect marriage of ultra-modern, sleek decór inside an antique structure. There are old-time lamp post-like columns  and I don’t know if they are originals or faux  which look plain cool juxtaposed against the snazzy IKEA-esque style. There is all sorts of seating on two floors. The coolest of which is the counter seating which overlooks Commerce Street and the Torch of Friendship. Because the McDonald’s is elevated slightly, you really get a nice vantage point to view foot traffic there. The views from the second floor are just as cool. Overall, it’s a great example of what an urban fast food setting should look and function like. It reminds me of the old Wendy’s on Alamo Plaza. Above all, it’s 100 times cleaner than the previous version. It’s no longer a dump.

Vacant space: Below the McDonald’s, there is a basement space available for rent. It was occupied by a Mexican gift shop, but it closed for reasons unknown, and now the 5,600-square-foot space is available.

“A bar would be good (for that space),” said Stephanie Maxey, commercial property manager for Management Enterprises Inc. A restaurant is pretty much out of the question because there is no kitchen. If it were to be a bar, the tenants would have to construct a second bathroom  right now there’s only one. One downside would be the lack of wheelchair accessibility, but the tenants need not worry about that because the building has been grandfathered in.

Real estate developer James Lifshutz is part of a partnership which owns the Dullnig Building.

Related

McDonald’s renovation scheduled for February completion

 Benjamin Olivo

Have any downtown news, event info, hearsay, tips, celebrations, complaints, boastings, updates, breaking news, memories, old photos, etc.? Want to write a guest blog? E-mail me.

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