McDonald's franchisee Des Lamph has invested £2 million in refurbishing two north Belfast restaurants, at Glengormley and Abbey Centre, creating 20 new jobs. Glengormley reopened this week following the first phase of works, with Abbey Centre due to reopen in November.

Des Lamph is Northern Ireland's largest McDonald's franchisee, having operated restaurants across the region for more than 30 years. Glengormley and Abbey Centre together already employ 220 people, with the new roles taking combined headcount at both sites to 240.

The refurbishment delivers brighter, more comfortable dining areas with updated decor, seating and lighting, alongside improved digital kiosks and menu boards. A redesigned front counter will provide faster collection for kiosk, app and delivery orders, with separate collection areas for dine-in, takeaway, delivery and courier orders to reduce congestion during busy periods.

The investment also extends to reconfiguration of both kitchens, including new equipment and layouts designed to improve speed and accuracy, alongside upgraded crew facilities and back-of-house areas.

The structural driver is capacity reconfiguration for the growing mix of dine-in, takeaway, app, delivery and courier order channels, rather than a purely cosmetic refresh of the two restaurants.

"This is a substantial investment in two busy north Belfast restaurants and in the 220 people who work across them. Customers will see a real difference in the dining areas, but the work has also focused on how the restaurants operate day to day," said Andrea Morrison, operations manager for Des Lamph.

"The new kitchens, collection points and back-of-house facilities will help our teams serve customers more quickly and more accurately, whatever way they choose to order," Morrison added.

The investment comes as McDonald's marks 35 years in Northern Ireland, having opened its first local restaurant in 1991. There are now 36 restaurants across the region, owned by nine local independent franchisees.

For the sector, the Glengormley and Abbey Centre refurbishments show franchisees reconfiguring existing restaurants around multi-channel ordering rather than pursuing new site openings.

Source: News Letter / Irish News