The Mayor of Swindon swapped his civic duties for serving McFlurrys and packing chicken nuggets as McDonald’s officially reopened its newly refurbished restaurant.
Councillor Neil Hopkins donned a McDonald’s staff uniform and got behind the counter to help serve staff, friends and family during the reopening celebrations.
The occasion marked the completion of a major refurbishment at the popular restaurant, with franchisee Joanne Jones revealing plans to recruit approximately 25 additional employees following the investment.
The restaurant has undergone extensive improvements, including a redesigned dining area, additional seating, larger kitchens, new digital ordering technology and a separate entrance for delivery drivers.
Speaking to Swindon24 during a visit to the refurbished restaurant, Joanne said the investment was driven by the need to modernise the premises and respond to changes in customer behaviour.
“The restaurant was tired, and it really just needed a facelift,” she explained.
“So we made a decision to do it this year, so that we can enhance the whole area, because the Oasis may well open back up again, and the local area is now booming again.”
She added that the increasingly busy Cocklebury Way was another reason to invest, creating a more welcoming environment for customers wanting to stop for a coffee or meal. The refurbishment reflects a significant shift in how customers use McDonald’s, with deliveries becoming an increasingly important part of its operations.
John Carpenter, Operations Manager, told Swindon24 that the restaurant had been redesigned to accommodate different types of customers more effectively.
“We’ve made it more of a digital experience for our customers to make it easier for them to place orders,” he said.
“We’ve remodelled completely the restaurant, some additional seating. We also made the kitchen areas a lot bigger to make it more efficient for our staff and a nicer place for them to work.”
He revealed that deliveries now account for approximately 20 to 25% of the restaurant’s business, while drive-through customers represent around 45%. The remaining business comes from customers dining inside or ordering to take away.
The restaurant also experiences a significant lunchtime rush from students at nearby New College, while delivery orders tend to increase later in the evening. A dedicated courier entrance has been introduced to separate delivery collections from the main dining area.
Among the changes are new ordering screens and accuracy scales designed to check orders before they are handed to customers. Joanne said the investment in technology was particularly important at a time when household budgets remain under pressure.
“So we want to make sure that when you come to us, you get good value for money. So we want to make sure that everything that you pay for, you get,” she said.
The restaurant is also adapting to the growing popularity of mobile ordering and delivery platforms, including Just Eat, Uber Eats and Deliveroo.
Joanne believes businesses must continue embracing technology to remain competitive, while recognising that customers increasingly prefer the convenience of ordering through apps and self-service screens.
The refurbishment is also expected to bring new employment opportunities. Joanne currently employs around 120 people at Cocklebury Way and oversees approximately 1,000 employees across her Swindon restaurant operations.
She said the investment would also create additional management positions and opportunities for existing employees to progress.
Joanne has spent 32 years with McDonald’s, having originally joined through its graduate programme as a trainee manager before working her way through the business and eventually becoming a franchisee.
She is particularly proud of the company’s apprenticeship and degree programmes, which offer employees opportunities to develop their qualifications while working.
“Everybody we hire is from the area as well. So we want to support the local community in terms of employment,” she said.
“We offer a lot of apprenticeships as well, including degree programmes. So anything we can do to make our employees better, train better, enhance the experience for the customer, we’re all in.”
Joanne also highlighted McDonald’s longstanding relationships with British and Irish farmers, saying sourcing produce closer to home remained an important part of the company’s approach.
Reflecting on her responsibility for employing so many people locally, she added:
“They’re all great Swindon people, hardworking, brilliant people. Honestly, fills me full of pride actually to have that responsibility.”
The focus now turns to recruiting additional staff and welcoming customers back to the modernised Cocklebury Way site.
