No more burgers served
These golden arches have sold their last Happy Meal.
At the end of September the McDonald’s at 1787 Bayview Ave. closed to make room for a new Eglinton Crosstown LRT stop, much to the disappointment of longtime customers, like retired Leaside Velma Hodgins, who had been visiting with her friends for nearly 30 years.
“It was a lovely building,” Hodgins said. “Many people would say, ‘a McDonald’s?’ And that’s true. But it was a lovely building. It was designed so nicely, with big, clean windows, and nice people.
“We’re very sad it’s being torn down,” she said.
After opening more than 30 years ago, the Leaside McDonald’s became a neighbourhood icon thanks to its distinctive design, with the restaurant itself perched on top of a ground-floor parking lot, and its proximity to neighbouring Howard Talbot Park, where residents could often watch students from nearby Leaside High play baseball after buying dinner.
In a joint statement emailed to the Town Crier, local franchise owners Andre and Reg Hu-A-Kam thanked Leasiders “who made this restaurant such a great location” for three decades
“We can honestly say that it has been a real pleasure and a true privilege to have been a part of the community over the years,” they said. “While we’re sorry to leave the neighbourhood we’ve loved for so many years, we look forward to the positive impact this will bring for the community.”
