Space-theme decor expands horizons at Roswell McD

Nation's Restaurant News,  May 21, 2007  by Ron Ruggless

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ROSWELL, N.M. -- The "spaceship" McDonald's unit in this New Mexican town is readying for this year's 60th anniversary of the controversial 1947 UFO "incident" that put Roswell on the tourist map.

The space-theme McDonald's, opened in April 2005 by franchisees John and Robyn Snowberger, has become something of a tourist attraction itself. Many visitors to The Amazing Roswell UFO Festival, to be held July 5-8, are expected to make a terrestrial stop at the restaurant.

Jerome Elenez, marketing director for McDonald's Greater Southwest region, said the 4,500-square-foot outlet replaced a 33-year-old unit nearby.

"These decor packages just make the stores more inviting and up-to-date, and it comes with what customers are expecting," Elenez said. "McDonald's is always looking for ways to embrace the community in which we do business, from the architecture and physical plant to the activities we do with groups in the community."

Roswell has turned the mysterious July 1947 crash of what the Army then said was a "flying disk" into a festival to draw visitors, and McDonald's has tapped that interest with its localized architecture.

"We work in partnership with our franchisees in understanding the location, and if it's financially feasible," Elenez said. "We always try to match up our restaurants in decor with some community aspects. They aren't always as blown-out as the spaceship theme in Roswell."

Still, he added, "We try to incorporate parts of the community."

For instance, in Albuquerque, N.M., a McDonald's near the Hispanic Cultural Center is decorated with "lot of artifacts borrowed from the museum," Elenez said.

rruggles@nrn.com

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