Renovated Tucson McDonald’s takes down large mascot inflatable after complaints

By Chorus Nylander

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    TUCSON, Arizona (KVOA) — The grand reopening of a fully rebuilt McDonald’s in the Catalina Foothills brought plenty of fanfare. The business used a large inflatable of the iconic Ronald McDonald mascot on the roof to try and get some attention, it did but also came with attention the franchisee wasn’t expecting.

“Was just going home and then pop there it was,” explained nearby resident Clive Morgan.

Morgan feels the large Ronald brings down the upscale nature of the area and impacts pristine views of the nearby mountains.

“I thought this is crazy, would this set a precedent for all the drive-thrus and McDonald’s in town, we’d end up like a huge theme park,” he said.

News 4 Tucson spoke with Paul Dias, owner of Dias Management Inc. which is the largest owner of McDonalds franchises in Southern Arizona with over 20 locations.

Dias showed us around the newly rebuilt location at the corner of Swan and Sunrise.

He said the kitchen area is about twice the size as before and now they have many more digital upgrades and resources to provide more efficient customer service.

The location, which is run by one of his daughters, is special to him.

“It’s the closest restaurant to my home,” Dias said.

He feels strongly about the use of the Ronald McDonald inflatable.

“It got a lot of great feedback from our customers and our guests coming in, it was the talk of the town.”

He acknowledged that not all the talk was positive. Some nearby residents complained to the restaurant.

“There were a few people that thought it wasn’t appropriate for the area we’re in,” he said.

So by Friday, good ole’ Ronald was taken down.

“Our intent was never to make anyone upset, not one customer at all, so we made the business decision to keep it down for the near future and probably for good.”

Dias said they always try to learn from past experiences so it may impact how they celebrate future store openings.

He was surprised because he said they had used the same inflatable many times before without any backlash, he had no idea why things were different this time around.

When asked by News 4 Tucson’s Chief Investigative Reporter Chorus Nylander how he feels about the inflatable coming down Morgan told us, “Mission accomplished sir.”

Morgan told us he is satisfied and has no issue with McDonald’s being in the area and respects the business.

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