HOULTON, Maine — The end of an era arrived Friday afternoon as Houlton’s iconic McDonald’s restaurant was demolished to make room for a new, modern facility.
As many as 50 vehicles at any one time were parked around the property watching the restaurant be torn down. One person, however, who was not there was Houlton franchise owner Heidi Abbotoni. It was Abbotoni’s father, Ed Degenhardt, who opened the original Houlton restaurant 40 years ago, and she spent much of her childhood helping out in the family business.
Abbotoni said she could not bring herself to be on the site during the demolition because of all the memories she had within that building.
“We spent Monday through Wednesday last week getting everything out that we wanted to get out,” Abbotoni said. “We had several of our employees helping during this process and they were a huge help! The wood carvings were carefully removed last Monday and we believe that we’ll be able to bring at least two of them back in the new restaurant.”
The large Ronald McDonald figure that hung on the wall to the “Ronald McDonald Room” in the basement was also saved. Exactly where that piece of memorabilia will end up remains unclear, Abbotoni said.
Another piece that was saved is the copper fireplace hood. That piece of history was taken out through a large hole cut in the front of the building and will be saved for Abbotoni’s parents.
Demolition was expected to be complete by the end of the week, followed by foundation work for the new structure starting early next week. A modern 4,936 square foot restaurant will be erected on the existing site and will feature a larger kitchen area and two drive-through ordering kiosks to help the busy flow of traffic during rush hours.
“We expect to open in late December,” she said.
