Lady’s Island McDonald’s to open this week

Lady’s Island McDonald’s will reopen this week with a new look and tastes.

The restaurant at 177 Sea Island Parkway will open Wednesday or Thursday, said Laura Eggers, who co-owns four Beaufort County McDonald’s locations with her husband, Michael.

The previous building was demolished in January to make room for a larger, more high-tech facility.

“It was time,” Laura Eggers said Tuesday. “The building was tired.”

At approximately 4,500 square feet, the new building is more than 1,000 square feet larger. Self-serve kiosks, choose-your-own menu options, a touchscreen Coca-Cola machine and double-lane drive-thru are among the new features.

During construction, some of the restaurant’s employees went to the Eggerses’ Port Royal location and others went to the Bluffton business, where they could learn about the double drive-thru and new menu options.

Some of the employees who left have been brought back on, and the location is still hiring, Eggers said.

The upgrades come as commercial and residential activity on Lady’s Island has picked up. Near the McDonald’s, a new Harris Teeter and gas station are planned. A new Publix was built across Sea Island Parkway, and construction on a Walmart Supercenter is underway nearby.

The Lady’s Island restaurant will also have the McDonald’s new “Create Your Taste” menu, an answer to customers moving toward fast-casual restaurants like Five Guys and Wayback Burgers — which just opened a location on Boundary Street in Beaufort — and away from fast-food chains.

The new McDonald’s menu includes a variety of buns, protein, cheese and nontraditional toppings such as grilled pineapple, tortilla chips, guacamole.

The program is being tested in select markets, including the Bluffton location.

Opening time is still up in the air, Eggers said. Crews were still working at the location on Tuesday afternoon.

If doors don’t open until Thursday, it will be in time for breakfast, Eggers said.

“We’re excited to get it up and running and get the community to see it,” she said.

This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Lady’s Island McDonald’s to open this week."