A table, please: Don’t look for big golden arches when seeking out the McDonald’s that recently opened on Waukegan Road in Lake Forest. With a cedar roof and a barnlike shape that has been gussied up with Victorian trim and painted Lake Forest green (the color of money?), a person could drive by without knowing that a Big Mac waited inside.
That was the idea, according to town fathers and officials at McEssy Investment Co. of Lake Forest, the franchisee. McEssy and McDonald’s had won a legal battle to add a Lake Forest location, but they were out to prove that the fast-food spot would fit Lake Forest’s image.
A walk inside (there is no driveup) reveals the lengths McEssy officials went to in saying they are part of Lake Forest. A tile mural done by Lake Forest artist Mark McMahon features the town’s Market Square and other local scenes across three walls
And the Lake Forest green is everywhere. “We custom made everything in green: the booths, the trim on the tables outside, the outside umbrellas, down to the trash cans. Bill McEssy (the owner) wanted to make it a hometown McDonald’s,” McEssy general manager Ernie Masucci said.
