The World's Biggest Fast Food Restaurant

Because I love my greasy fast food, I'm always fascinated by stuff like this.

In order to meet the hungry tourists descending on London for the 2012 Olympics, McDonald's UK is getting ready to open up the world's largest fast food restaurant.

3000 square feet in size...two stories high...designed to serve 1200 people an hour.  McDonald's is bringing in 500 elite McDonald's employees from all across the UK to staff it, and 200 people will be on staff at all times.

McDonald's has been an official Olympic sponsor since 1968, when Team USA complained about the lack of cheeseburgers at the games in Grenoble, France, so McDonald's flew a bunch of cheeseburgers to them. 

This world's largest McDonald's has 20 tills and 1500 seats.  The expect to sell 1.79 million meals during the course of the Olympics and the Paralympics.  Apparently, 10% of all food sold during the Olympics will be McDonald's meals.

But what really blows my mind is, it's temporary.  It will have its grand opening the day after the opening ceremonies; July 29.  And then, on September 9, the day after the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic games, they close the doors and tear it down. 

Tales like this inspire me to some day write my book about the McBarge.  The McBarge was the temporary, floating McDonald's that McDonald's set up on the Vancouver waterfront for Expo 86.  It still stands as the busiest fast food restaurant in the history of ever.  Designed not just to feed the hungry tourists, but to showcase the latest and greatest in fast food technologies circa 1986.  And after Expo 86, just cast off, and left to rust in an inlet. 

But yeah.  I find this fascinating.

Here's the original article, where I got the pics and facts.