Happy Meals! McDonald's on Southwest to Open Before Christmas

SAN ANGELO – The McDonald's restaurant on Southwest Blvd. in San Angelo has been closed for a year and a half and is now set to open next week after several delays. 

The announcement was made Thursday in a social media post: "McFinally!! The Southwest side McDonald’s is opening December 15th, bring school supplies for a free burger!" 

As the calendar marked the impending arrival of December, whispers began to circulate through the San Angelo about the restaurant. After a year of emptiness and the demolition of its former structure, the McDonald's restaurant nestled along Southwest Blvd was about to reawaken from its slumber. A long-awaited announcement echoed across social media platforms, igniting hope and curiosity among locals. The slated reopening date, December 15, carried with it the promise of revived sizzle and chatter within those familiar golden arches.

It had been a year since the once-familiar sight of the McDonald’s Restaurant at 4330 Southwest Blvd. had vanished, succumbing to the wrecker's ball in June of the preceding year. A building that had stood since 1979 had made way for progress—a new, modern chapter in the neighborhood’s fast-food landscape.

Traditionally swift in their redevelopments, McDonald's had encountered unforeseen hurdles, delaying the resurrection of this particular haven of fries and shakes. Despite their reputation for swift rebuilds—knowing that every day of closure meant a dent in profits—the wheels of progress had faltered, leaving a gaping pause in the anticipated timeline. The interior of the new establishment stood adorned with furniture, futuristic kiosks primed for seamless orders, but outside, an unfinished canvas told a different tale.

The parking lot, the threshold where hunger meets convenience, lay incomplete, a vast expanse of unpaved ground. The franchiser of the trio of McDonald’s in San Angelo, Eric Wilson, shed light on the snag that halted the grand reopening. The freshly poured pavement, intended to complement the new structure, failed to meet Wilson's stringent standards. His concerns about the structural integrity of the two-level parking lot prompted him to enlist independent engineers for evaluation.

A decision deemed necessary but arduous ensued—Wilson ordered the entire newly laid parking lot to be demolished. Months had passed since that ill-fated paving, leaving the exterior of the McDonald's in limbo, frozen in time, waiting for the solid ground beneath to match the promising sheen of the restaurant's new interior.

“We were supposed to open on November 7, 2022,” Wilson disclosed, the weight of unanticipated challenges evident in his words.