A Big Mac Will Soon Come With Plasma TVs and Internet Access

Oct. 21, 2006 — -- McDonald's special sauce has always evoked nostalgia.

Ask anyone about their memories of their first trips to McDonald's, and you'll inevitably hear stories about first jobs, first friends and first bike rides.

No matter where you grew up, the McDonald's across the street looked a lot like the McDonald's across the country. That familiarity made the restaurant iconic.

But now, after 50 years and billions of customers, the fast-food giant is getting a face-lift.

Plasma-screen TVs, soft couches, coffee tables and wireless Internet access are just some of the new features customers will begin to see at their local McDonald's.

"It's a place where you can sit and see and be seen," said Sophia Galassi, vice president of restaurant development for Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's.

Watch Eric Horng's report on the McDonald's makeover Sunday on "World News Tonight."

All 13,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States will eventually get the McMakeover, half of them by the end of this year.

The iconic red or brown "double mansard" rooftops -- designed to catch the eye of passing motorists -- will be replaced by something more sleek and modern.

"I think it's a lot better than the way they used to look, I really do," said Tom McNamare, a customer at one of the new restaurants in suburban Chicago.

The traditionally kid-focused, kid-proof, interior is now decidedly grown up. There's mood lighting, trendy artwork and fireplaces.

The message: The dining area is no longer just for dining.

"We want to have you come in and relax and enjoy, be comfortable," said Galassi.

Comfort was not what McDonald's founder Ray Kroc had in mind when he installed hard, plastic, unmovable furniture in his restaurants decades ago. Kroc wanted customers, especially rowdy teenagers, in and out quickly.

"He figured he was in a high turnover business, and if people hung around, they were only going to be causing trouble," said Philip Langdon, who wrote about McDonald's' architectural history in his book, "Orange Roofs, Golden Arches."

"[Kroc] eliminated pay phones. He eliminated newspaper boxes," said Langdon. "He eliminated any reason for people to want to stick around, but of course, they did."