McDonald’s licensee Niki Ramsay says a seventh McDonald’s could be coming to Mackay

As she oversees a massive $2.5m renovation for the Mackay North store, McDonald’s guru Niki Ramsay unveiled plans for a seventh store in the region and new renovations for stores in East Mackay and the Northern Beaches.

The empire of McDonald’s in Mackay looks set to grow, with licensee holder Niki Ramsay hinting a seventh store could be opening up “very soon”.

A seventh store would follow the new McDonald’s in Andergrove, which only opened its doors in April this year.

She would not detail the location of the seventh store but said there was enough demand for another branch.

The Mackay North McDonald's is going through a $2.5m renovation, due to be completed at the end of April. Picture: Duncan Evans

Mrs Ramsay owns five McDonald’s restaurants and her brother owns one.

With a population base of 120,000, another restaurant would mean a McDonald’s for every 17,142 Mackay residents.

In Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast, there are six restaurants servicing a comparable population size.

McDonald's workers Sherryl Rodriguez and Taylor McComb at the Mackay North restaurant on January 9, 2023. Picture: Duncan Evans

Alongside the potential expansion, Mrs Ramsay is overseeing a massive $2.5m renovation for the Mackay North store, what she calls “the biggest one” yet.

The rebuild has already introduced a new airconditioned playground and tables to the store and will soon refashion the ceilings, introduce a new area for delivery drivers to pick up orders without disturbing customers, put in new automation kiosks around the restaurant, put in wood panels and construct a new outside seating area.

Mackay builder WHF Group is doing the work and Mrs Ramsay said she expected it to be wrapped up by the end of April.

The Mackay North McDonald's renovation will include a new space for delivery workers to pick up food without disturbing the front counter. Picture: Duncan Evans

The upgrade money is coming out of her own pocket.

“Any upgrades that I do to the building is purely my expense because I own the building and everything in it, whereas McDonald’s owns the block of land,” she said.

Following Mackay North, Mrs Ramsay said she planned to renovate the Northern Beaches and East Mackay restaurants in 2024, with a $1m allocation for East Mackay to build a new playground.