Andrews – It is the end of an era.
The McDonald’s restaurant on Main Street downtown officially closed on March 31. The building was handed over to an excess property management company, which will determine whether to lease or sell the property.
“It was a sad decision that we had to make after many years, but goodbye doesn’t mean the end,” McDonald’s owner/operator Skip Sharer said. “We want to continue to grow and be a big player in the community.”
Sharer and his wife, Barbara, own McDonald’s restaurants in Murphy, Robbinsville and Blairsville, Ga. They owned the Andrews location for more than a decade and had discussed whether to close it for several years.
The couple hoped the local business climate would change, so they fully remodeled the location about five years ago. In the end, a perfect storm of events capped by the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close what had been a staple in the community for more than 20 years.
“It’s no secret that labor costs are going up, commodity costs are rising and the business at the restaurant isn’t moving for a lot of different factors,” Sharer said. “This wasn’t the first time [McDonald’s Corp.] came to us and asked if we wanted to close; it’s been a lower-performing restaurant for many years.
“You’re not getting a lot of traffic on Main Street. If you don’t get traffic, it’s hard to sell a $1 cheeseburger.”
Sharer has also struggled to hire employees, even though he increased hourly wages. His restaurants today pay clerks $10 or more per hour to start, with a $200 signing bonus.
“Have you seen the hiring climate these days? It’s dog eat dog when it comes to the workforce,” he said. “The casino has been a big drain on the available workforce in this whole area.”
However, Sharer – who began working for McDonald’s at age 16 and has never held another job in his life – is “in it for the long haul.” His restaurants received some paycheck protection funding to help with staff retention and pay bills. Plus, business is starting to improve at his remaining locations, which saw sales drop more than 30 percent last year.
He’s optimistic that McDonald’s will return to town in the future.
“McDonald’s will continue to look at real estate sites that might make sense in the area,” Sharer said. “To me, the highway is probably the better location. We’re hoping we can do business in Andrews one day again.”