City closer to getting golden arches

The McDonald’s golden arches could be in place at the crossroads of Highway 4 and 49 in Angels Camp by the end of next summer.

The fast food chain has one hurdle to clear before it can break ground at a grassy patch of land at the front of the city’s Frog Jump Plaza.
 

When the doors open depends on when McDonald’s turns in its final application, which typically takes the city six months to process, said David Hanham, city planning director. Construction can take as little as three months.

The project comes amid a total halt in commercial construction in the city. No commercial buildings were erected last fiscal year and nothing else is currently in the works for 2009-2010, according to Hanham.

“I think it will be a good project for the city,” he said. “When there’s a McDonald’s that comes to town, it brings other positives.”

But the impending arrival has some in the plaza — home to chains like Subway and Starbucks and full-service eateries like Far East and La Hacienda — worried they’ll lose customers.

“It might take 50 percent of the business,” said Jagjiwan Singh, owner of the Subway franchise. “I don’t think there’ll be enough business for them. It’s a really small town.”

Others are ambivalent.

“We’re dedicated to coffee, they’re dedicated to hamburgers,” said Patrick Works, a barista at Starbucks. “We’re not worried.”

If the parking lot at the city’s Burger King is any indicator, there are plenty of local hamburger fans. But not all who eat out are inclined to make a switch.   

“I would never eat there,” said Andrea Penton, 43, of Murphys, as she paid her lunch bill at Far East.

The city has been working with the company for about the last eight months, according to Hanham, but McDonald’s first began looking for a Calaveras County location around five years ago.

Local outcry halted the chain’s efforts to locate in San Andreas a few years ago. Hanham said he’s seen no signs of opposition in Angels Camp.