Spokane Food Service Inc., operator of 26 McDonalds Corp. restaurants in the Spokane-Coeur dAlene area, plans to remodel two of its longtime restaurants here.


Cory Ray, the companys operations supervisor, says that later this month it will close the McDonalds at 4436 N. Division, on Spokanes North Side, and start a complete revamp of that restaurant. In August, the company plans to shut down its eatery at 517 W. Third downtown and begin an overhaul there. Each remodel will cost about $1 million, he says.


Employees who work at both restaurants will be transferred to nearby McDonalds during construction, Ray says.


Ray says each project is what the company refers to as a four-wall gut, in which a restaurants interior is torn out and completely rebuilt. When finished, both fast-food restaurants will have copper roofs and color schemes consistent with other McDonalds restaurants here that have been updated in recent years, such as the one at 4647 S. Regal, on Spokanes South Hill.


The North Division McDonalds, which was built in 1974, includes about 3,800 square feet of floor space and seats 112 people. Ray says the renovated building will be roughly the same size, but might include slightly fewer seats.


In addition to the interior overhaul, that eatery will get a double drive-through, which will be equipped with two drive-through order-taking lanes. It will be the first location at which Spokane Food Service has employed that feature. Work there is scheduled to be completed in September.


The McDonalds on Third Avenue currently has split-level seating, but after the revamp, the restaurant will have just one level with both seating and the service counter at grade in the 3,750-square-foot structure.


Consequently, the number of seats in that restaurant will drop to about 90 from 140. Ray says the decrease in seating wont be detrimental, because 70 percent of that restaurants sales are to drive-through customers.


That work likely will be completed in November, Ray says.


The Third Avenue restaurant opened in 1969 and was the third McDonalds to open in the Spokane area. It underwent its last substantial remodel in 1974, he says.


Associated Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the general contractor on the projects, and Wolfe Architectural Group PS, of Spokane, designed the improvements.