McDonald’s pulled out of Idaho Walmarts. Which restaurants may replace Golden Arches?

John Sowell
·2 min read

McDonald’s has closed its restaurants in four Idaho Walmart stores, including one at 8300 W. Overland Road in Boise. The retailer is exploring options for adding new eateries.

“Since December 2020, four low-volume McDonald’s restaurants located inside Idaho Walmart stores have closed,” spokesperson Lindsay Rainey said in an email to the Statesman. “Local franchisees have expressed that they are willing to close these locations.”

The others were at 2100 12th Avenue Road in Nampa, 5108 Cleveland Road in Caldwell, and in Ammon, outside Idaho Falls in East Idaho.

McDonald’s blamed low sales, which were especially acute during the coronavirus pandemic, for the exit. In its annual report, McDonald’s said it closed about 200 restaurants in the United States during 2020. Half of those were in Walmart stores.

Walmart boarded up the space where McDonald’s operated a restaurant inside its store at 8300 W. Overland Road in Boise. The company is seeking to replace the hamburger chain with another restaurant.
Walmart boarded up the space where McDonald’s operated a restaurant inside its store at 8300 W. Overland Road in Boise. The company is seeking to replace the hamburger chain with another restaurant.

While standalone McDonald’s restaurants in Boise, Nampa and Caldwell have closed their dining rooms, take-out, drive-thru and curbside pickup is still available. The McDonald’s restaurants inside Walmart did not have a drive-thru window and fewer customers were coming into stores during the early months of the pandemic.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart is testing Taco Bell, Domino’s pizza and Charleys Philly Steaks, a Columbus, Ohio, company that has 600 standalone restaurants throughout the country, including Oregon, Washington and Utah.

“We took a turn to make sure what we are doing matched up with the strategy for the company,” and what today’s shoppers want, Linne Fulcher, vice president of customer strategy for Walmart, told the Journal.

Besides the locations where McDonald’s operates, Walmart is seeking a restaurant operator for its store at 7319 W. State St. in Garden City. An online listing says that space has 2,209 square feet.

At one time, there were about 1,000 McDonald’s restaurants inside Walmart stores. The arrangement has lasted 30 years.

McDonald’s will have 150 restaurants left inside Walmarts following another round of closures set for this summer.

“McDonald’s will still retain a presence in Walmart stores through its higher-volume locations,” Rainey said.

It’s unclear whether the Boise-area McDonald’s employees at the Walmart were offered positions at other local McDonald’s. Darmody Enterprises, the franchise operator for McDonald’s restaurants in the Boise area, did not return a phone call.

A Walmart spokesperson did not reply to an email asking about its plans.