THE biggest McDonald's store in the country is now open inside Megaworld's 35.6-hectare Capital Town.

The two-level, free-standing NextGen store features more than 1,000 square meters of floor area, making it the biggest in the Philippines. It also has a modern McCafe, a no-touch drive-thru facility, alfresco dining, self-ordering kiosks, a meeting room, and a dedicated party area.

"Our vision for Capital Town is to be a must-visit tourist destination for Pampanga, and what better way to begin bringing that promise to reality than by opening the country's biggest McDonald's here at Capital Town. We want Filipinos to come and visit San Fernando, and we want the people of the city to be proud that we are bringing no less than the biggest attractions here in our township," said Eugene Em Lozano, first vice president for sales and marketing of Megaworld Pampanga.

The store, the 16th Megaworld-owned McDonald's outlet in the country under Choice Gourmet Banquet Inc., sits on a 2,200-square-meter lot inside the township and near the Pampanga Provincial Capitol.

McDonald's Capital Town is open 24 hours and also offers McDelivery.

Diners and guests may also choose to use cashless payment options. Aside from this, the store also features an expansive parking area, an Instagrammable green wall, as well as a McDo Park.

Safety of diners will remain the store's highest priority. Temperature checks, hand sanitation, footwear disinfection, wearing of facemask, and filling out of a Health Check Form are required before entering. Only a limited number of customers will be allowed entry to ensure physical distancing.

The Megaworld-owned McDonald's is part of Golden Arches Development Corporation (GADC) or McDonald's Philippines, a strategic partnership between Alliance Global Group, Inc. (AGI) and the George Yang Group. The group holds the exclusive franchise to operate the McDonald's brand in the Philippines.

Helping revitalize the economy

Amid the ongoing pandemic, which caused unemployment to hundreds of workers, the newly-opened McDonald's Capital Town opened dozens of jobs for Kapampangans.

According to Choice Gourmet Banquet Inc.'s Managing Director Eugene Reducindo, over a hundred Kapampangans, mostly Fernandinos, are now employed by the international fastfood chain.

"We have more than a hundred managers and crew, all of them are from Pampanga, particularly from our home city of San Fernando," he said.

Reducindo said additional workforce may be hired in the coming months, especially when Covid-19 restrictions is eased.

Lozano, meanwhile, added that the opening of the biggest McDonald's in the City of San Fernando is envisioned to revitalize the city and the country's economy amid the crisis caused by Covid-19.

"We have to have hope and faith that things will get better. So despite this Covid-19 situation, we still decided to invest and open up McDonald's biggest store here to provide hope and instill faith among fellow business owners and the community also," he said.

He added that McDonald's is only the first store out of the many establishments that are eyed to be opened by next year inside the 35.6-hectare Capital Town mixed use complex.

McDonald's Capital Town and Megaworld Corporation also kept its promise

of paying tribute to Pampanga Sugar Development Corporation, which stood on the same spot of Capital Town by featuring the old photos of the sugarmill on the fastfood's walls.