First McDonald’s restaurant for Tilbury

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Tilbury residents and visitors can now spot the Golden Arches.

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The Chatham-Kent community’s first McDonald’s restaurant opened at the end of December at 67 Mill St. W. Franchise owner Jason Trussell said the new location comes after “years and years” of rumours of a McDonald’s coming to Tilbury.

He said McDonald’s ultimately makes the decision where a new restaurant will be located, but the franchisees provide some input.

“The close proximity to the (Highway) 401 doesn’t hurt, but we’re on kind of a main road,” Trussell, who owns 11 other locations in the Windsor and Essex County area, said.

“There is lots of land around. I wouldn’t be surprised if other things end up developing here in the foreseeable future because there is a lot of economic activity happening in Chatham-Kent and Windsor market.”

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The Tilbury location uses what is called the gas alliance model for the restaurant. A gas station will soon open at site, which also has an M&M Food Market.

Trussell, the president of JnJ Foods Inc., said a standalone McDonald’s may not have been right for the community due to its size and the land required. This is the second gas alliance location he has opened, following his Belle River location, which opened in 2019.

The company and Trussell decided to open the franchise in May 2021, but there were delays related to supply chain issues and the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“The initial thoughts were that it would open by the end of 2021, but as supply stuff came in. Renovating an empty field in the wintertime is not the easiest to do, and we needed to coordinate it with the gas station,” Trussell said.

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“It took us a little bit longer than expected, but gave us more time to provide our employees with additional training and just be better prepared for opening.”

The Tilbury location currently has around 90 employees, according to Trussell, and could reach a complement of 110 to 120. Trussell said they are still determining the traffic volume to the restaurant, which should be more apparent once the gas station opens.

The employees trained over three to four months at three restaurants in Windsor before the opening in Tilbury.

Although this McDonald’s currently doesn’t have delivery, the owner said it is set up if Skip, Uber or DoorDash come to the area.

For the initial promotion period, $1 from every Big Mac sold will be donated to Ashley’s Place, a not-for-profit organization in Tilbury. Trussell said the idea for the fundraiser came after he asked his staff for suggestions.

“The only one I ever remember anybody talking about was Ashley’s Place,” he said. “It seems like part of the fabric of the community. Everybody knows what it is; everyone is a big supporter of it.”

The Tilbury location also raised over $2,100 for the Ronald McDonald House in Windsor during a friends and family night on Dec. 28 ahead of the official opening.