'A fixture in town': Honesdale-area residents recall 1977 opening of McDonald's

McDonald's, with its "Golden Arches" opened for business at the Honesdale Route 6 Plaza in Texas Township the morning of Monday, Nov. 7, 1977.

This is not the McDonald's you see today. After changing hands, the original restaurant was torn down and a new, supersized version was constructed next door in 2019. The same tall roadway sign was kept.

Ronald McDonald greeted an immense crowd standing outside on that morning 46 years ago. Ronald had 200 breakfast guests that day. The new franchise was started by the late George Rubin and his wife Judy Rubin, and began with a staff of 78.

The Wayne Independent reported at the time that hundreds of people who "felt that they deserved a break today," borrowing the well-known McDonald's marketing slogan, "began their schedules with coffee, pancakes and Egg McMuffins."

A hamburger, small fry, and small Coke in those days would only set you back about 99 cents.

The sign says, "billions and billions served." One can only guess how many of them dined here. This was one of the first McDonald's restaurants in a rural area. Mike Fisch, who worked there in the early days, said that it became a model for the restaurant chain to see if they could be successful in a more rural setting.

In an interview for this newspaper in 2007, Judy Rubin recalled, "McDonald's was something that you'd only see in the major cities back then, so the reaction we got was amazing." Having Ronald McDonald there in person created a sensation. George Rubin recalled, "Every parking space and both sides of Route 6 near the restaurant were lined with cars when he came."

Residents recall the early days of McDonald's

Residents remember opening day at "Mickey D's."

Most of these comments were posted on Roger Herman's Facebook group, "Wayne County, PA, Important History of the Past..."

Paul Lloyd has no trouble remembering the groundbreaking ceremony. He said they drove past it on their way to their wedding reception, on June 11, 1977.

"I was there with my mom for Ronald. My dad was involved in building the restaurant," Bill Shaughnessy said. "I vaguely remember being inside the place when it was under construction. I still remember the green chairs and ash trays." He was three and a half.

"I was part of the first team of employees," Teresa Murray said. "The Rubins were very nice people to work for and remained my friends."

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David Seipp shared, "There was quite a crowd there to see Ronald McDonald and the kids were lined up to greet him. My son, Kevin Seipp was 4 and when it came his turn, he ran up to Ronald and climbed on his lap."

Honesdale High School band played at the opening ceremony. Dan Figura, who played in the band, said they received free orange drinks for being there. Roberta M. Griffis played the clarinet. "I remember meeting Ronald himself. It was a very exciting day for the locals," she reflected.

Karen Rice recalled, "I was there, and my dad put me on his shoulders so I could see Ronald."

Bonnie Bardy shared, "Debbie [Johannes-Lapps] and I were part of the first crew to train and work at this McDonald’s. We were behind the counter the first day it opened. It was a very happy mob scene! Lines were out the door. A lot of great memories working there and going on dates there. Makes me smile!"

Barbara Chumard Theobald said she was their very first customer. "I worked at Donamite then and we were excited to not have donuts for breakfast. I took orders from my co-workers and was waiting for maybe a minute until they unlocked the doors," she said. "Oh, they didn't charge me because of being the first customer!"

Mike Fisch shared his recollections in an interview. He was one of the charter employees at the Golden Arches. “We trained for a few weeks in the South Side of Scranton," he said. Fisch was an assistant manager at the new McDonald's in Wayne County and worked there for about two years. He said the Rubins were decent people to work for.

A special memory for Fisch is when he came back as a customer. He went there and ordered some fries from a girl he met at the counter named Kim. They eventually married.

Michael Eldred shared about when as a lad, his father would take him to Mickey D's as a special treat. He recalled getting a kid's meal and "carefully lifting off the top bun so I could perfectly pick the right size of French fries to place across the top of the cheese and pickles, then set the bun top back in place, it was a work of art! Then after finishing the meals, we could have a small ice cream which was the real treat for stopping there!"

"I remember the Ronald McDonald coloring calendars," Anne Tuman Grivas recollected. "As a child, when they came out every year it was a big deal for me."

'Mayor McCheese'

Dave Ursich started at Honesdale McDonald's in 1986 and later became manager, a post he still holds. Dave has been nicknamed "Mayor McCheese" and once was picked by the Honesdale Area Jaycees as Boss of the Year.

In June 2006, torrential rains caused a flood at the Route 6 Plaza. McDonald's had eight feet of water in the basement, forcing the Rubins to close for three months.

Ursich said that McDonald's has remained popular in the area. When a new competitor opens, some customers leave to try out what's new, but in a couple of weeks things get back to normal. Making the biggest impact, he recalled, was the opening of the nearby Pizza Hut in the early 1990s. "That was a slow summer for us," he said. Pizza Hut closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID pandemic and never reopened.

Around 1993, the Rubins added the children's play area and solarium to the front. Ursich said that the company started moving away from featuring play areas due to liability, so the new restaurant does not have one.

Ashley Truxell has fond memories of the children's area. "I miss the old McDonald's. I enjoyed being in the ball pit and sliding down the slides. My daughter will never know the joys of that," she said.

New owners and a new building

George Rubin died in 2014.

The Mueller family purchased the Honesdale McDonald's franchise from Judy Rubin, who was retiring. The Muellers closed the original restaurant on Sept. 22, 2019, to have it replaced with the updated version constructed immediately to its right, as seen from Route 6. With much public anticipation, the new McDonald's opened Nov. 11, 2019.

Ursich said that the old building had problems ever since the flood, influencing the Muellers to start afresh. The old McDonald's also was too near the road, which caused the traffic lined up for the drive-through to sometimes back up onto Route 6.

The new restaurant building is larger, with an expanded kitchen for greater efficiency, but has a smaller dining room. Ursich said that these days, more customers prefer the drive-through as well as placing their order on an app. Traffic now loops around the building, well off the roadway.

They employ about 80 people, part- or full-time, Ursich said.

McDonald's through the decades has been active in the community. Some examples, Ursich said, are helping to sponsor the ARC of Wayne County, PA Bike-Hike, and local sports teams. The restaurant hosts a trunk-or-treat and events with Santa and the Easter Bunny.

Albert and Carol Mueller opened their first McDonald's in 1972 in Scranton. Together with their daughter Christina, they own and operate 19 McDonald's restaurants in northeastern Pennsylvania and in Allentown. Albert and Carol Mueller are co-founders of Ronald McDonald House in Scranton.

Ursich said he has heard stories about the massive crowd that turned out in 1977 when McDonald's first arrived. He said when they reopened in 2019 it was a "wild day." "Even in 1986 when I started, we still had lines out the door all night long... McDonald's is a fixture in town."

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Happy memories recalled of Honesdale McDonald's restaurant opening