This softer, more stylish McDonald’s aims for new standard.

A few weeks ago, the owners of a McDonald’s franchise in Maryland had a complete makeover done on their restaurant located in the city of Pikesville. Leading the way on the fast-food facelift was an interior design firm called Whitehead and Appel. The new “sophisticated” look includes a warmer, more contemporary style that focuses on natural textures and materials. Custom furniture, stone floors, limestone counters, limited edition art, extra-high ceilings, custom lighting, wi-fi and multiple flat screen televisions are among the many new features in this freshly decorated MickeyD’s. Franchise owners Bob and Barbara Houck have stated their store may be considered as a “model” for other McDonald’s restaurants nationwide in the future.

That got my attention, so I visited the store myself. I took several photos of the new design and details for FFC readers. You won’t be overloaded with flashy colors and cheap looking plastic decorations in this store. The sleek modern look is a welcome change from most McDonald’s. Overall it’s a stylish, modern and inviting environment that I’m sure people will respond to in a positive way. Even the bathrooms were nicely upgraded, and super clean. Now we’ll just have to wait and see if this new look really does create a chain reaction for this fast food icon. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Imagine cruising down a famous highway like Route 66, and you see a giant pop-bottle structure towering over the landscape in the distance, glowing with neon lights. You drive ahead and pull over to inspect the curious piece of modern art. What you find is the greatest selection of soft drinks you’ve ever seen in one place, with more than 500 different varieties of soda pop to choose from. Now, imagine they had a machine that let you easily order and purchase any of those drinks, and have them shipped immediately via Federal Express to friends and family anywhere in America.

It’s not a crazy dream I had last night, the place is real. And yes indeed, there are over 500 types of soda. This combination soda shop, gas station, convenience store and cafe-restaurant, is located on Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma, and it’s called POPS.

Since POPS opened its doors along Route 66 last year, it made national news with its landmark architecture, 66-foot-tall pop bottle, and stunningly diverse menu of soda pop. The sales were off the chart from the first week, and customers kept coming back for more. Now they have introduced another first: a soda kiosk, allowing customers to send their entire inventory of unique sodas anywhere in the United States.

POPS customers have marveled at the variety of sodas from which to choose: from Boylan’s Black Cherry to NuGrape, soda connoisseurs can find it here. Many have asked for a way to customize a case of POP to send it home, and now POPS General Manager Marty Doepke is thrilled to show them how. “As soon as we opened our doors, the sodas became our signature”, said Doepke. “We are very excited to offer another way for our guests to find that perfect soda for themselves or for friends and family. This kiosk is quickly becoming a huge hit with our customers.”

On Tuesday, May 27, POPS brought the soda kiosk online. This isn’t a rudimentary order site. The colorful touch screen allows POPS guests to custom order more than 500 types of soda, and have them shipped via FedEx. The first customer was Oklahoma’s First Lady Kim Henry who sent Dublin Dr. Pepper and an assortment of Cream Sodas to her nephew in Kansas. “This has been a wonderful experience,” said the First Lady. “I remember growing up and my grandfather buying me Cream Soda, so I wanted to stock up on that. There are many different types of soda that remind me of different things throughout my life and it’s fun to be at POPS to reminisce.”

Pictured above are POPS General Manager Marty Doepke, Oklahoma’s First Lady Kim Henry, Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Dept. Executive Director Hardy Watkins, and Arcadia Mayor Marily Murrell — Proudly taking the new Kiosk for it’s first run.

This will be POPS first summer season, and you can bet there will be plenty of hot thirsty drivers pulling off the highway to check out this new landmark and enjoy a refreshing beverage. And if they happen to be someone you know, there might be a surprise arriving on your doorstep soon after. Visit POPS66.com to learn more.

Thanks to POPS’ Jessica Ockershauser — FFC Editor.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past couple weeks, you’ve probably seen and heard the advertisements for McDonald’s new “Southern Style” chicken sandwich and biscuit. You might have even tried it already. And if you’re a fan of Chick-Fil-A, you are probably thinking that Ronald McDonald found a way to infiltrate the CFA headquarters and sneak away with the secret recipe, because the new sandwich from McDonald’s is so similar it could be the long-lost brother of the legenday Chick-Fil-A sandwich. How did this happen? What does CFA think about it? That’s what I wanted to know, so during my recent conversation with CFA’s Corporate PR man, Mark Baldwin, I gathered up enough courage to ask him.

FFC: Let’s get right to it — McDonald’s copied Chick-Fil-A. I know it. You know it. McDonald’s knows it. Everybody knows it. — How does that make you feel?

CFA: We are flattered that McDonald’s is enamored enough with our products to be willing to clearly imitate our original Chick-fil-A Sandwich and Biscuit. Based on the reactions we’ve seen from customers thus far, they are making good choices and realize the superiority of Chick-fil-A’s products and people.

FFC: Have you tried their new sandwich? What did you think about it?

CFA: Yes, we all have tried the Southern Style chicken biscuit and sandwich and, to be honest, they did a good job copying our products. It will probably do well on Sundays (when Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed)!

FFC: It seems McDonald’s was very thorough when replicating the CFA sandwich.

CFA: There are, however, some key differences in the two products. Since Truett Cathy created the first chicken sandwich in the early 1960’s, Chick-fil-A has been preparing each sandwich fresh daily at the restaurant. We hand bread our chicken sandwich and breakfast filets in the store, while our competitors have frozen, pre-breaded chicken shipped to their restaurants. We even make our biscuits from scratch every morning.

FFC: They seem to have done a good job in duplicating the seasoning and flavor. Did they hire a team of food spies to steal the secret recipe? Maybe they tied up and kidnapped Truett Cathy (CEO) and forced him to spill the beans? (laughing)

CFA: No, they didn’t tie Truett up to get the recipe, but two of their Atlanta franchisees finally realized the impact Chick-fil-A was making, and convinced their corporate folks to try a chicken sandwich. You might be interested in this article that explains McDonald’s entry into the chicken sandwich market.

FFC: Very interesting stuff. Mark, I want to thank you and Chick-Fil-A for being gracious enough to visit with me today. I realize the circumstances are a bit unusual. In closing, is their anything new and exciting coming up for CFA?

CFA: We will be releasing some pretty significant news ourselves next week — basically, 180 degrees different from the Chicken Sandwich and Biscuit hype. You may want to fast over the weekend, because there will be plenty to try!

My thanks again to Mark for the candid converstaion.

I love Chick-Fil-A, and I’ve been eating at McDonald’s since I was a kid. It’s an odd feeling for me, to see one copy the other. They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. So considering that McDonald’s is the #1 fast-food chain in the world, and they are copying somebody else, this would seem to confirm my belief that Chick-Fil-A is, and has been for many years, the best chicken sandwich in fast-food.

How do I think the new offering from McDonald’s compares? I’ve tried it once, and it was a very good sandwich. I’m going to have it again soon, and bring some friends along with me. I will follow-up with my review, plus the opinions from my guests.

I love animals. Dogs, Cats, Birds, Giraffes. But I don’t want to eat them. So when I saw the logo for Cisco Burger, I was both confused and concerned. Suddenly I felt like a frightened child looking for answers. “Daddy, why is there a dog on the sign? Are they eating the dogs?” I soon found out everything was fine, and the world had not gone crazy. They were not eating the dogs. Furthermore, contrary to the first-thoughts of 3 out of 4 people I showed the logo to — they are not a dog-food company either.

So, with that mildly traumatic (yet funny) experience behind me, I was inspired to create the first FFC Feature Story, devoted to finding out more about this fascinating company, the people behind it, and of course, that dog in the logo.

Cisco Burger is a fast-casual restaurant located in Long Beach, California, and was founded by Jesse James, star of Discovery Channel’s Monster Garage television series. This guy definitely knows his bikes, and has his own custom shop where he’s built $100,000 motorcycles for people like Shaquille O’neal. The dog on the sign and logo is his real-life pal “Cisco”, now 14 years old. It’s obvious he truly loves his dog, which tells me a lot about the type of human being he is. I like him already.

The restaurant opened in 2006 and features a menu of burgers, fries, sandwiches, breakfast and soft-serve ice cream. What makes the food different, is that it’s natural, organic and hormone-free. The burgers are made from 100% Kobe Beef, with no preservatives. They also offer a Veggie Burger for those who don’t eat meat.

In addition to making healthier fast food, the company has an eye on the environment, using solar panels to power the building, biodegradable paper products to package the food, and a Toyota Prius Hybrid automobile for deliveries. From the food they serve, and their earth-friendly business model, to the “Tattoos and Piercings are welcomed” message on their job listings, it’s obvious this a forward-thinking company with a conscience, and perhaps more ‘coolness’ in one-single location than most companies have in their entire chain of stores. I think Cisco Burger is setting some important examples that others in the industry could learn from.

Jesse used his canine friend on the company logo and sign knowing full-well it would create a stir among some folks. He knows what he’s doing. That’s just his style. He’s different. He’s not the typical fast-food owner, that’s for sure. But maybe he should be. We’d all be better off if we had more people like Jesse around, willing to toss aside the old established ways and re-think what fast food should be.

Oh yeah, and I should probably mention that his lovely wife is Hollywood superstar actress Sandra Bullock. Wow, talk about a lucky-dog. (sorry, I had to say it)

If you are located in, visiting or vacationing near Long Beach, California, I recommend you stop by and check out Cisco Burger for yourself. The next time I’m in that part of the country, I will definitely pay them a visit and publish a follow-up to this story, with the focus more on the food. I look forward to meeting Jesse and Cisco, as well as Lori (from Cisco Burger and West Side Choppers) who helped me with this story. She promised I could have my burger “on” her. I’m not sure exactly what she meant by that, but I look forward to finding out, and no matter what — I figure it’s a good thing.

*Logo, sign and photos: copyrighted property of Cisco Burger, used with permission.