June 30, 2022

The newest McDonald’s in Sioux Falls is on track to open before the end of the summer.

The location on South Minnesota Avenue just north of 85th Street will be the first new restaurant for Jordan Hartshorn, who became the franchisee for Sioux Falls in early 2021.

“We just got power to the building last week, and that’s when we really start taking off and things move really fast,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome we’re basically moving to schedule.”

McDonald’s has owned the land for years, and Hartshorn used what has been learned during the pandemic in settling on a final design for the store.

From the outside, “it will look very traditional to the customer,” he said. “A side-by-side drive-thru, and the dining room is going to have about a 70-person capacity.”

What’s new will be found behind the scenes, with a more efficient kitchen layout designed to help the team handle increased volume now that customers are ordering on multiple platforms.

“It’s a really good concept, and we’re excited about it,” he said, adding that up to 40 percent of orders now come in digitally somehow – through the McDonald’s app or for delivery.

“And there are six to eight stalls designated for curbside pickup or one of our delivery partners.”

The hope is to open before the end of August.

“It’s super exciting to open it,” Hartshorn said, adding the route traffic takes from Harrisburg to Sioux Falls will be convenient for customers. “And there’s a lot of rooftops. We have a number of staff who will transfer because it’s closer to them.”

Staffing itself is becoming less of an issue than earlier this year or during the pandemic, he said. He just announced all new employees will start at a minimum of $15 an hour, with managers starting with at least $18 an hour. About a year ago, the starting wage was increased to $13 an hour.

“Our applicant flow is up about 25 percent from this time last year,” Hartshorn said. “It’s been going really well. Some stores are getting 30 applications a week, which is awesome. I would say a year and a half ago we were getting five to six a week.”

His restaurants also have served as a pilot site for a new McDonald’s emergency care benefit, which connects employees in need of care for children or adults with a third-party provider in situations where a child care center isn’t open or they need emergency help taking care of a parent, for example. If a relative steps in to watch someone at home so the employee can work, McDonald’s reimburses $100 for the day.

“There is some time for our employees to feel comfortable with that, but we had a number of employees use it and have a good experience,” Hartshorn said.

Operationally, his restaurants largely are back to pre-pandemic approaches, with most dining rooms open, albeit some with limited hours.

“We’re as busy as ever. That’s the beauty of the brand, and we just continue to be excited because we know there’s continued opportunity in the Sioux Falls market to ensure we’re giving customers the best experience possible” he said.

“I just appreciate customers’ patience through the last couple years. It’s been a wild year with operations and policies and procedures, and I just appreciate customers continuing to come back and visit throughout everything and hope they know we’re working hard to give them the best experience possible.”