Yes, there's a McDonald's about 1 1/2 miles from my home. And no, while it's close by, I don't go often, knowing that eating its food all the time is not nutritional. But once in a while is okay.
McDonalds was founded in 1940 in San Bernardino, CA and has more than 50,000 restaurant locations worldwide. The first McDonalds in HI opened in Aina Haina in 1968. The McDonald's in HI Kai opened in 1969 and is one of 72 locations in HI. It sells hamburgers, chicken, French fries, soft drinks, shakes, breakfast items, and desserts. It also sells items on a regional basis, with menu items only in HI:
* Rice. Due to a large Asian community, its influence on rice makes it available during breakfast.
* Breakfast meats. Spam and Portuguese sausage (Pacific Sausage is the local vendor) are popular in HI and are served with rice in its breakfast platter.
* Fresh apple pie. All McDonald's on the Mainland have converted from frying to baking their pies. But because of local influence, the pies continue to be fried in HI.
* Haupia pie. The pie contains a creamy, smooth pudding-like filling of coconut and is fried.
* Rotating items. Taro pie (purple in color and similar to sweet potato), McTeri Deluxe (teriyaki burger).
I normally enjoy the fish filet sandwich and the sausage McMuffin without egg. On occasion, there are promotions, e.g., 50 cents double cheeseburger on National Cheeseburger Day, free large fries on National French Fry Day, BOGO, and I'm game on these! And every so often, I will indulge in a quarter pounder, chicken McNuggets, chicken sandwich, and fries and also take the grandkids to get a Happy Meal. The food is reliable, and prices are reasonable despite that there is no food production in HI, there is an additional shipping cost to bring in the food from the Mainland.
As with all fast-food restaurants since Covid, the McDonald's in HI Kai has and is still in short supply of workers. Workers may not be fully trained, as they have not been employed long enough. As a result, orders may not be made correctly, and wait for orders may be slow. Orders should be checked to see that everything's there; if not, it should be brought to the attention of the manager. The manager and a few long-time employees, who are normally older in age, are there to address issues.
One of these long-time employees crafts these beautiful floral arrangements for holiday displays in the restaurant. I've seen them for Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, graduation, Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. In addition to a floral arrangement, each holiday has its own enhancements, e.g., graduation will have photos of employee graduates, and Halloween has varying colors of smiling pumpkins. The displays are placed throughout the interior of the store, so if you dine-in or walk in to order, you'll see them. You won't see them if you use the drive thru. You don't normally see displays of this kind at the other McDonald's.
I also love that McDonald's gives back to the community via its non-profit organization, Ronald McDonald House Charities. A percentage of the restaurant's sales go to this organization which funds the Ronald McDonald House, a place where families with seriously ill children can stay. It also funds the Ronald McDonald's Family Rooms that are in hospitals where families can rest and relax.
The restaurant interior is bright and clean. It's a popular spot for retirees and students for dining in just for leisure, for short one-to-one meetings, eating meals, or doing school work on your laptop. There's no rush to leave, as you can stay at your table until you're ready to leave.
Hours of operation are daily from 5a to 11p. McDonald's is located in the HI Kai Shopping Center with Safeway and CVS Longs Drugs. As McDonald's is located near the entrance, there is sometimes a backup of cars going using the drive-thru lane; just use the next lane on the left to either drive straight or right turn around these cars. Lots of available parking in this shopping complex that is shared with other businesses.
Knowing what I'm getting, reasonable prices, a celebratory ambiance, its charitable intent, and close to home make this a pleasant McDonald's that I don't mind going to read more