McDonald’s and gas station closing at Cookstown entrance Feb. 1 for revamping; closure will affect nearly 200 staff members

"Orders Up at Highway 400 Service Centre" Barrie Examiner (new service centre to take place)

The Highway 400/Highway 89 service centre will close on Feb. 1 as the Ministry of Transportation prepares to refurbish the site in line with its other ONroute centres along 400-series highways. IAN MCINROY BARRIE EXAMINER

INNISFIL - The days are numbered for a mainstay of many travellers on Highway 400 near Cookstown.

The southbound lanes service centre — which has a McDonald’s and a Petro Can — at County Road 89 will be closed effective Feb. 1, meaning GTA-bound commuters and other motorists will have to gas up or get their Big Macs somewhere else.

The site will eventually be reopened as an ONroute as part of the Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) rebranding of its 400-series highways service centres.

The ministry currently has 23 of the facilities along highways 400 and 401 and 20 of these sites are being modernized to better serve both commercial and private motorists. The northbound ONroute in Barrie, currently under construction, is expected to reopen this summer.

“Although the previous service centres served motorists well for many years, they were outdated and no longer met the requirements of the travelling public. Consequently, these sites are being redeveloped to better serve highway travellers,” MTO spokesman Bob Nichols said.

“Activities to decommission and clean up the site are anticipated to begin in the following months. Once the clean-up activities are complete, we’ll be able to confirm the construction timeline,” he said. “During construction, this redevelopment project will create approximately 350 construction-related jobs and additional jobs with other economic spin-offs.”

To date, the province has completed the redevelopment of 16 service centres, branded as ONroute, Nichols added.

Janet Howard was travelling back to Toronto from North Bay recently when she stopped into the Petro Can to fill her tank.

“It won’t inconvenience me that much,” she said of the imminent closure. “I usually gas up where it’s cheaper. There are lots of places just off the (400) highway.”

But families travelling along the highway looking for a quick bite to eat might be a little more disappointed, she added.

“I could see where some people would be inconvenienced by not having the McDonald’s open,” Howard said.

About 175 people will be affected by the closure, according to Stephanie Sorensen of McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada.

“We are very disappointed with MTO’s decision to close the McDonald’s Cookstown location. Our focus now is to provide our crew with the support that they need, and to continue to serve our customers until the restaurant closes on Feb. 1. We will relocate as many people as we can, however it’s too early to determine how many people this will be.”

In October, McDonalds announced to employees that the service centre will be closing as of Feb. 1. Human resources met with staff individually to discuss the closure in further detail.

Samantha Holochuk, an employee of McDonald’s for the past four years, said that she is “bummed out” regarding the closure.

“I’ve met a lot of nice people and now I have to say bye to everyone,” she said.

When asked about the closure, one employee/student said that she is “stressed,” pointing out that she has been dependant on her job for the past two years.

Nichols said the job losses were an unfortunate aspect of rebranding the service centre.

“We are aware that these closures will cause short-term job losses and are working to minimize the duration of the closures,” he said. “We are confident that any job losses in the service centre operations will be temporary and that the current employment levels will be re-established once the service centres are redeveloped and fully operational.”

The Cookstown site was originally developed in the mid to late-1960s. Prior to 1985, Gulf Canada was the tenant and it was later rebranded to Petro-Canada in 1986 (Petro Canada is now Suncor Energy). McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada became the subtenant and refurbished the site in 1985. Prior to that, there was a Wayfare restaurant at the location. The MTO recognizes the importance of providing drivers with opportunities to stop and rest during their travel, Nichols said.

“The new highway service centres (ONroutes) feature eco-friendly and family-friendly facilities,” he said, adding they will offer a variety of dining options, fuel, increased parking for cars and trucks, public telephones (including teletypewriters, a tool that allows deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals make a phone call), pet areas, seasonal picnic areas, convenience stores, tourism information and fully-accessible washrooms.