Thomasville McDonald's                  

October 28, 2008                     

Fire destroyed the Thomasville McDonald's restaurant Tuesday morning. Employees called 911 at about 9 a.m. to report smoke in the building. Within minutes of firefighters arriving, thick black smoke was pouring out of the building while firefighters tried to get at the fire that was burning in the building's roof.

Crowds gathered around the building as the fire started to spread beyond the building's thick, layered, flat roof. By 10 a.m. Thomasville called for Fulton to come back them up against the blaze, but by 11:30 it had consumed the building.

"We just couldn't get to the fire," said a frustrated Sheldon Day, Mayor and volunteer firefighter. "We were working outside and inside but we couldn't stop it."

No one was injured in the fire, as all employees and customers had been evacuated from the building.

It is currently owned by Bob and Michelle Orwig, who also own the Jackson and Demopolis restaurants. Michelle Orwig said the Thomasville store employed about 45 people and that she hoped that some would be able to relocate to the other stores.

The Thomasville McDonalds was built in 1989 by Roy Griggs and operated here for eight years before he sold it. "I could not believe it," Griggs said after hearing about the fire. "It saddens me. Bob and Michelle are good people and the people of Thomasville mean so much to us, Thomasville will always be special to us. These things happen, but that McDonalds was a landmark in Thomasville, it was my first franchise." - As reported in "The Thomasville Times"

The Ground Breaking Begins!! 

Monday

March 9, 2009

Ed Pettyjohn-Hudson Construction, Bob Orwig-McDonald Owner/Operator, Shelton Day-Mayor, Marlo Anderson-Executive Director/Southwest Alabama Chamber, Debra Allen