McDonald’s restaurants are pretty much a dime a dozen—unless you find yourself dining at an exceptionally unique location in the New England region.
Like pretty much every other town across the United States, Freeport, Me., boasts its very own Mickey D’s. But what sets it apart from your typical McDonald’s is that it operates inside a classical Victorian mansion. It also serves a menu item that’s very common in New England but very uncommon for McDonald’s: lobster rolls.
Those lobster rolls are a seasonal offering only available during the summer, per The New York Post. But even if you happen to visit at a time when lobster rolls aren’t on the menu, you can still enjoy a unique McDonald’s experience thanks to the grandiose setting.
McDonald’s shared a brief history of the location in a blog post back in 2016, calling it “one of the most unique and impressive McDonald’s restaurants in the United States.”
“Located in the historic town of Freeport, Maine, the restaurant operates inside the Gore House–a classical Victorian mansion constructed in the 1850s by William Gore, a successful local merchant. McDonald’s assumed control over the property in January 1984 and was excited to begin renovations while still maintaining the building’s historical structure and community ties,” the post read.
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The company restored the inside of the mansion with mahogany furniture, wall-to-wall carpeting, and original paintings by Maine artists. Not much was done to change the outside aside from a couple of “minor renovations” to make it more durable.
The company said that there have been a couple of other renovations to the location since 1984, including adding a drive-thru in 2000, but it has still remained “one of the most notable landmarks in Freeport.” That one-of-a-kind look and atmosphere is all part of the charm for customers.
“This McDonald’s exceeded my expectations. As we were driving here, we almost missed the building because it does not look like your average Mcdonald’s. Built inside an 1850s home, this McDonald’s had an ambiance that made me feel like I was having breakfast with Paul Revere himself,” one customer wrote on Yelp earlier this year.
While this is probably one of the fanciest, if not the fanciest, McDonald’s you can find, there are several other extremely unique locations in the United States. At the chain’s global headquarters in Chicago, for example, a ground floor restaurant sells a rotating lineup of menu items from around the globe. The world’s largest McDonald’s in Orlando, Fla., also boasts an enormous playhouse, arcade games, dessert bar, and several rare dishes like pizza and omelets.
Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe
