Macca’s to add 20 new Brisbane restaurants over five years

The Golden Arches have unveiled plans to add even more outlets to their Brisbane footprint, creating 600 new jobs.

Lovin’ it or not, it seems nothing – not even a pandemic – can satisfy Brisbanites’ hunger for McDonald’s fast food.

The Golden Arches has revealed it plans to open roughly 20 new stores across Greater Brisbane in the next five years, including five restaurants by the end of 2021, in a bid to keep up with consumers’ insatiable appetite for the brand.

Confirmed locations for this year include Colmslie Rd, Morningside, already opened, and a soon-to-open venue in South Brisbane, with the company claiming it is still finalising agreements for the other three.

With 120 jobs at each restaurant, that means 600 new jobs will be created this year alone through the new outlets.

Brisbane McDonald’s licensee Steven Morris at his Cleveland store. Photographer: Liam Kidston

Among those already taking a bite of the action is the two-generation Morris Macca’s dynasty, whose stores dot Brisbane’s southeastern suburbs.

Franchisee Rod Morris, who already operated the Cannon Hill Macca’s, opened the Colmslie Rd, Morningside, location earlier this year.

Meanwhile south of Brisbane, his son Steven Morris – who first came into the company working at one of his father’s restaurants – operates outlets at Cleveland, Victoria Point and Underwood.

Steve, however, said it wasn’t easy to be a licensee, describing it as a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week, 365-days-a-year kind of job.

Across his three restaurants, Mr Morris has around 400 employees who serve on average 1000 customers at each store every day.

“It takes a lot of energy,” he said.

“They’re not without incident, but we’ve got processes and strong people in place and talented people that have been around in my business for a long time that are certainly equipped to handle whatever comes their way.”

“It’s certainly not just about selling hamburgers, that’s for sure.”

Mr Morris said it was “a privilege and a huge responsibility” to operate stores, given they had to conform to strict standards.

It took three years of training before Steve could take over operations of his first restaurant in 2011, and he counts maintaining consistent quality and keeping staff happy as his biggest priorities.

“It’s all about the consumer, it’s not about me. It’s what they need,” Mr Morris said.

The father of three also said it was too early to know whether his three kids, aged 8, 6 and 4, would follow in his footsteps.

The Morris family are far from alone, with the average Brisbane licensees operating four restaurants each.

According to McDonald’s Australia, 22 franchisees owned 87 restaurants across Greater Brisbane, with another 25 company-owned outlets dotting the landscape.

McDonalds Queensland market director Peter Burchard said it wasn’t unusual for licensees to operate multiple restaurants.

McDonald’s Queensland market director Peter Burchard said the company would spend $7 million upgrading its existing stores in Brisbane. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“There’s no particular licensee who has more or less restaurants than others,” Mr Burchard said.

“But a lot of our licensees do own multiple restaurants, which gives them the ability to create jobs and to be able to create a really good employment environment,” he said.

Mr Burchard said each new McDonald’s restaurant created 120 jobs, and added that the company generally opened between four and six new restaurants in Brisbane each year.

“It’s fairly consistent growth but really positive for us to continue to do so,” he said.

“We make sure there’s a need in the marketplace and there’s the opportunity for us to grow in the local community,” he said.