THOMASVILLE ALABAMA

New Thomasville McDonald's has unique features

New McDonald's replaces one that burned last year. Photos by Jim Cox

Local McDonald's operator Bob Orwig announces that the Thomasville McDonald's will reopen Thursday, June 11 at 10 a.m.

The restaurant burned in October 2008 and it took several months for McDonald's representatives and Bob and Michele Orwig to sort out the details of rebuilding. Construction started in May and the project was completed in 89 days.

"We had people pull up in the drive-through after the place burned and ask if they could get food," laughed Bob Orwig. "While constructing the building, and especially during the final phrase, customers have been driving over traffic cones and through barricades to get into the parking lot."

The new restaurant has a decor to remind visitors of the great outdoors, a salute to the area's history and culture, said Bob and Michele Orwig.

Wood veneer and stone elements enhance inside diners. The new playland for kids even looks like a treehouse atop a tree tower.

The restuarant has a fresh design to accommodate customers who enjoy checking emails while dining or for families or friends to gather around a large table.

Bob Orwig shows two 75- gallon tanks that make sure the Coca-Cola fountains never run dry.

A double drive-through has been added to handle two cars at a time at two different order-taking booths. Cars will merge together as they approach the building and orders are placed with a picture of the car, so confusion is minimized.

The drive-through will be open 24 hours a day.

A new speciality coffee machine has been added. Included in the line of McCafe speciality coffee drinks are lattes, cappuccinos and mochas.

Bob Orwig has owned the Thomasville restaurant since October 2000. Before that he was a McDonald's manager and supervisor in Nashville and Pennsylvania.

Michele Orwig, his wife and business partner, worked for a large non-profit group in Nashville that administers programs in public schools and social work programs.

Orwig began working in the food business for his father at Burger Chef in 1965. Later, he worked as a grill cook with his dad at a steakhouse in Indiana. The Orwigs moved to Pennyslvania in the early 1990s to help his father run the new McDonald's franchise.

Elaborate coffee machine offers all types of speciality coffee drinks.

Along the way, Bob Orwig thought he wanted to be an actor and starred in commercials and TV programs as well as the award winning movie "Platoon."

But he came back to McDonald's full force.

The Orwigs live in Grove Hill and have two teen-age sons, Dalton and Carson.

In addition to the Thomasville store, the Orwigs also own restaurants in Demopolis and Jackson and employ 150 people in the region. Eighty work at the Thomasville location.

The Orwigs are proud of the new store and look forward to serving the public

Game stations can entertain children...and adults too! Two drive-throughs will speed up service. A camera system will track vehicles and help to keep orders straight.