Workers put the finishing touches on Phillip’s new Metro service station and McDonald’s restaurant. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The combined McDonald’s restaurant and Metro service station on the old Magnet Mart site on Hindmarsh Drive in Phillip is set to open on Friday (17 November).
The new Maccas will be the first to have a drive-through facility in the Woden area, and licensee Brad Carroll said it would fill a hole in the market that he had identified for some time.
For Mr Carroll, who developed a love for the business flipping burgers as a teenager in Wagga Wagga, McDonald’s Phillip will be his fifth store in Canberra, joining Manuka Plaza, Molonglo Valley (on Cotter Road), Weston and Westfield Woden.
It will add 100 jobs to the area and bring the number of staff under his umbrella to 625.
The new restaurant is fitted with modern décor, a dedicated area for delivery drivers, McCafe and PlayPlace for customers to enjoy.
Mr Carroll said the Phillip venture was a joint enterprise with the McDonald’s organisation.
“We’ve been looking in the Phillip area for many years now for the right site for a drive-through restaurant,” he said.
“Obviously, being on Hindmarsh Drive and being a major thoroughfare, the site works for us.
“It just fills that hole in the market we’ve had for a long period of time in Canberra for a drive-through restaurant, a full-facility restaurant for the residents of the Woden Valley.
“I guess it’s been the missing link.”
The restaurant and the service station, which will be operated by a separate local franchisee, will be open around the clock.
Brad and Kate Carroll, pictured outside the site for the new McDonald’s in Phillip earlier in the year. Photo: Brad Carroll.
Mr Carroll said it was all about convenience these days.
With the hospital nearby with a lot of shift workers and the influx of new residents into the town centre, he said the restaurant would be a great facility for the area.
Although rising costs and uncertainty about inflation and interest rates have made for difficult trading conditions, Mr Carroll takes the long view.
“It’s more important than ever to offer consumers great value for money, new facilities and the easy convenience that we offer,” he said.
The new store would also generate jobs, particularly for young people.
“There will be more opportunities to train more people and give back to the community we operate in,” Mr Carroll said.
In 2022, Mr Carroll and his team were recognised for their ‘Inclusion in Employment’ at the ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Awards.
The official grand opening will be held on McHappy Day (Saturday, 18 November), the largest annual fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities, which helps support seriously ill or injured children, with an appearance from McDonaldland character Grimace from 12 pm to 1 pm and Canberra Raiders players from 11:30 am to 1 pm, as well as special offers.
McDonald’s Phillip is fully equipped with solar panels, a heat recovery water system and LED lighting, helping to reduce emissions and energy use in the restaurant.
A Metro spokesperson said the new service station and convenience store would be the independent brand’s fifth in Canberra and would be very competitive in the market.
Metro service stations usually sell fuel a few cents below that of the main players.
It will be the first service station on Hindmarsh Drive.
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