Health conscious northern beaches residents turn off Manly McDonald’s

Changing tastes are pushing McDonald’s restaurants out of more affluent and trendy suburbs as diners crave healthier and more up-market dining options and the latest golden arches to close is at Manly Wharf — but the chain is as popular as ever out West.

The old Manly McDonald’s restaurant currently being boarded up.

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Despite its ever-growing dominance across the globe, McDonald’s appears to have lost its appeal among health-conscious peninsula residents following the shock closure of the fast-food restaurant at Manly Wharf.

The iconic restaurant closed its doors at the wharf earlier this month after it first opened 18 years ago in 2001.

It follows the closure of McDonald’s Cronulla in 2015, while North Sydney lost its only McDonald’s a decade ago and Newtown hasn’t had one since 1998.

But the fast-food outlet is as popular as ever in Western Sydney, with four stores in Penrith alone and another four in Blacktown.

A McDonald’s remains at Bondi while a store opened at Randwick in April.

Manly Business Chamber said the closure of McDonald’s at the wharf showed a change in dining trends among locals.

The Manly McDonald’s when it was in operation.

It is set to be replaced with a high-end fish and chips shop.

“Manly Wharf is the iconic gateway for Manly and while McDonald’s has been a successful long-term tenant within the site, we’re confident the next operators will bring an offering more suited to Manly’s patrons today,” the chamber’s executive officer, Chantelle Hoare, said.

“With food and beverage operators the major tenancy operators within ground floor property in Manly, it is a highly competitive market and we’ve noted the shift away from fast food.

Ms Hoare highlighted how other businesses in Manly have “listened to the market” as trends shift.

“The local hub of Market Lane is a working example, where the businesses have listened to the market and are flourishing with poke bowls and vegan options,” she said.

Manly Wharf centre manager Chris Coore said locals were moving towards more “experiential dining”.

He said Betty’s Burgers, which opened at the wharf late last year, was an example of this, where diners paid a bit extra for a more up-market dining experience.

“That’s where it’s moving … rather than just queuing up with all the kids and the seagulls,” he said.

The old KFC store in Manly.

Social researcher Mark McCrindle said he wasn’t surprised people in affluent areas were shunning McDonald’s for more up-market options.

“(Affluent) people have a little more discretionary money to spend on food and are happy to spend up to 100 per cent more on a burger if it’s a bit cooler or lines up with their taste and values,” he said.

“While some may look at this and think we are getting more fast food outlets where people can least afford it and with it higher obesity, it’s not as straight forward.

“Junk food is still popular in affluent areas, but fast food is less popular.”

FAST FOOD CHANGES PART OF ‘BIGGER MOVEMENT’

The closure of the Manly Macca’s comes hot on the heels of the closure of Manly’s KFC, just a stone’s throw away on The Corso, last December.

Other fast food restaurants which remain in Manly include Hungry Jack’s and Guzman y Gomez, with the nearest McDonald’s now a little over 5km away in Brookvale.

A number of restaurants operate at Manly Wharf.

Dr Nicholas Fuller, who is an obesity specialist at The University of Sydney, said the closure of the Manly Macca’s was “representative of a bigger movement” of people choosing healthier options.

“The locals are obviously turning away from fast food,” Dr Fuller said.

“We are definitely seeing something on the northern beaches which is reflective of the attitudes of the people living in these areas.

“It’s inevitably going to happen in these health-conscious areas as we start to realise the dangers of a heavily processed diet.”

A McDonald’s spokeswoman didn’t answer a question on why the fast food restaurant closed at Manly, but she did say the company was “open to investigating other potential sites in the surrounding area.”