First ever McDonald’s store to open in UAE gets a facelift as business continues to grow
“Would you like fries with that?” It’s been more than 20 years since that question was asked at the first McDonald’s ever launched in the UAE, back in 1994.
The fast-food giant now has 128 stores across the country. McDonald’s recently refurbished that very first store, located at the Al Ghurair Centre in Deira, in an effort to make customer service for those fries and burgers more efficient. Digital menu boards have been added.
And speaking at the re-launch on Tuesday night, the man that brought the fast food giant over to the UAE, Rafic Fakih, revealed: “Back then our first McDonald’s had the basics – chicken, beef, fries and soda.”
The managing director and partner at McDonald’s Emirates added: “There were no local suppliers.
“We had our supplies coming in from Europe and East Asia. But over the 20 years there has been continuous growth, except for the crash during 2008 and 2009. In recent years our stores have seen growth from 5 to 10 per cent each year. This [the branch in Al Ghurair] has 1,500 transactions daily.
“But one customer brings two or three people with them – which means about 3,000 people eat here every day.”
The second McDonald’s restaurant was opened in Deira City Centre in 1995, followed by the third one by Union Cool on Al Wasl Road in 1996.
Fakih said there will be 15 to 17 McDonald’s in the UAE launched this year.
He also said McDonald’s is going to be testing out new meat for the burgers produced by a UAE-based supplier.
“Everything comes from the area, such as the UAE, Egypt and Saudi,” said Fakih. “But the chicken comes from Malaysia and the beef comes from Brazil.
“But we are working on hiring a local supplier. In the middle of this year we are going to start trying a local supplier.
“This means the life of the meat between production times and consuming will be less and so it will be tastier.”
In 2013, McDonalds decided to display calorie information on all of its packaging across the GCC region. Fakih said the transparency has brought a “positive response” from customers.
He added: “They are happy to know what they’re eating and how many calories they are consuming. But the customer also has to decide their way of life and if they do exercise. If they are eating at home and they don’t exercise, it’s the same thing.”
So after 21 years, what is the most popular McDonald’s meal in the UAE? The McChicken meal, Fakih says.
