All that remained of the McDonald's along Route 61 in East Norwegian Township on Friday was an exterior wall with "Re-open August" painted on it, the concrete floor and the Golden Arches.
The business closed May 3 after serving customers since 1975. A new, updated McDonald's will be built and is expected to be ready by Aug. 1.
"We'll actually start the construction of the new building Wednesday," Rick Trumper, project superintendent with GCM Inc., Mount Joy, said.
The wall will be removed today and the floor Tuesday.
Demolition of the building started about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and took about seven hours, Trumper said.
On Friday, Brian Cresnic, a GCM employee, operated a backhoe and jack hammered into the concrete of the old floor. Another worker, Eric Hoar, drove the skid loader and moved the debris, which will be taken to the North Schuylkill Transfer Station, Shenandoah.
Phil Kupst, field supervisor, said people were watching the demolition since it started. On Friday, people parked at the Fairlane Village mall to watch the activity.
Plans for the site include a smaller building. The plans call for a 15 percent reduction from the old 4,500-square-foot restaurant, mostly due to the elimination of the play place.
Wayne Pace, owner of the restaurant, said previously that he thought people would like the changes. They will include new furniture, electrical outlets at most of the seating areas, three televisions, two counters and three drive-thru windows.
The drive-thru will still be located at the rear of the business. The drive-thru area will have two menu displays, with cars proceeding to the first window to pay and the second window for order pickup. A third window will be used as needed for busy times or other special circumstances.
Inside, changes will include a digital menu screen and an electronic screen to keep track of customer orders. There will be two counters in the new building: one where customers place orders and another for order pickup. At the pickup counter, customer orders will be expanded on a digital screen and an arrow will indicate which tray of food belongs to which order.
The entrance to the new building will be moved to face Eyeland, while the highway entrances to the restaurant lot will remain the same. Parking improvements are also planned.
The building will also make changes to conserve energy usage by replacing current compact fluorescent lightbulbs with LED lighting and using a power management system, Pace said.
Customers are encouraged to use the Schuylkill Haven restaurant at 981 E. Main St., also owned by Pace, until the new building opens.