The long-anticipated McDonald’s drive-thru opened its doors for business on Wednesday morning, serving up 40 new jobs for the area in the process.

The kitchen was a hub of activity at lunchtime as the restaurant's 35 staff worked as a team as they flipped burgers and salted chips, worked the drive-thru and ensured that customers left happy from the new site.

David Walker, North West Restaurants, the franchisee of the Enniskillen store, which will be open 24 hours, was proud of the staff and the site as he surveyed it at lunchtime, clearing tables as he went. 

The entire development covers a space of  371sq m and features 76 covers for diners to enjoy their meals within a relaxed, modern environment.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Mr. Walker said: “We opened in Enniskillen in 1999 in Cathcart Square and were there until yesterday. This is our new restaurant and as we know the previous one had limited car parking and now we have significantly more car parking and also the double lane drive-thru.”

When asked how long they have been waiting to open a drive-thru, Mr. Walker who owns seven McDonald’s franchises laughed: “I am not going to say how many years!”

Niall Hennessy, Franchising Consultant at McDonald's joked: “Six months after we opened in 1999!”

He added: "There was always great traffic in Enniskillen.”

Momentum was built for the site in 2021 when the former T.P. Topping site was bought by long-standing local property investor David Mahon who struck a deal with McDonald’s for a part of the site and planning was approved in 2023.

Mr. Walker added: “T.P. Topping was the previous site here, the two directors from there Peter Little and Ronald Hurst came last night so it was nice to welcome them and thank them. "

When asked about what he is most looking forward to about the site, Mr. Walker said: “Better access for the customer. The customer is king or queen, it is a better customer experience. We have a lot of car parking and it is going to be great for the customer."

The business so far within a few hours of opening has mostly been a mixture of drive-thru and sit-in orders said the pair.

Mr. Hennessy commented: “There are fewer seats than before but we expect that 50 per cent of our business will come through the drive-thru.”

As a result of the new site, 40 new staff were hired meaning 115 people now work in the Enniskillen site.

Mr. Hennessy added: “You need between 110 to 120 staff for a drive-thru so hopefully we will be able to hire more.”

New technology will enable staff to do their jobs more efficiently including a new drinks system explained Mr. Hennessy. 

“As soon as customers order through the kiosk, the machine will dispense it for you, all the guys need to do is put the lids on. There is a lot of digital technology in the restaurants.

“We have invested a lot in terms of technology to help the staff.  

“The transition will take a few weeks for them to get used to and obviously, they were not used to operating a drive-thru so they have been training up in Omagh.”

The restaurant was filled with customers from all generations from families to young people in their school uniforms to pensioners, all of whom appeared to be ‘lovin’ it'!