McDonald’s gets the ‘Experience of the Future’

Patrons of McDonald’s on Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow recently celebrated its grand reopening as part of a corporation-wide effort to modernize the storefronts of the fast food chain.

The McDonald’s “Experience of the Future,” which will come to all 14,000 U.S. stores, includes self-ordering kiosks, table service mobile ordering and remodeled dining rooms.

The East Meadow Chamber of Commerce celebrated the local renovations with a ribbon cutting on Nov. 16. Josh Kaufman, 39, owns the storefront and has been an operator since 2008. He, his father Jonah and his grandfather Irv Klein own and operate 16 McDonald’s restaurants across Long Island.

Klein grew up in Indiana before moving to Huntington in 1959 and opening his first location, in East Northport, the following year. The location had no dining rooms, no drive-throughs and was just one walk-up window. “A lot has changed since then,” Kaufman said, adding that his grandfather never imagined that the franchise would stay in the family for over 50 yearss.

The East Meadow restaurant was Klein’s third location, which he opened in 1977, the same year his son Jonah joined the franchise. “It’s a proud family legacy,” Kaufman said. In addition to the East Meadow location, the family’s 15 other restaurants are also being renovated and will be complete in the next few years.