New McDonald's opens in Chineham Shopping Centre Basingstoke

The latest restaurant, located in Chineham Shopping Centre, officially opened to the public at 11am on Wednesday, May 22.

This new branch of the fast food chain is the fourth in the town, with a fifth on the horizon after a planning application for another branch in Hatch Warren Retail Park was submitted.

READ MORE: LIVE: Customers flock to Chineham as new McDonald's opens its doors

The McDonald's Chineham team (Image: Newsquest)

The restaurant boasts table service and self-ordering kiosks, with a large outside patio area - currently under construction - and a separate entrance for McDelivery.

@basingstokegazette A new McDonald's opened in Chineham Shopping Centre, Basingstoke #mcdonalds #Basingstoke #food #CapCut ♬ Food - Syafeea library

Operations consultant Bharpur Singh told the Gazette he was "excited to open the new branch", adding: "There is a tinge of nerves but it will hopefully be a success."

He added that the location of the branch will help to "drive footfall into the other businesses nearby, and help to increase productivity of the area".

Gia Khan, Khuram Khan and Bharpur Singh (Image: Newsquest)

Construction project manager Gia Khan, who has been involved in McDonald's for 10 years, said: "I am really excited as the project manager to deliver this new store, we've already seen people peaking in over the last few weeks, they keep wanting to know when we are opening."

SEE ALSO: Chineham Shopping Centre McDonald's to open tomorrow

Having employed nearly 100 full-time and part-time workers, the store expects to take on around 50,000 orders per week, and people will be able to order using Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat from Thursday, May 30.

Naomi (left) and Lisa (right) (Image: Newsquest)Two satisfied customers on the day were Naomi, and Lisa, who tucked into their first burgers at the new store

"I love it," Lisa said, "It's an amazing addition to Chineham, these are the first hot chips I've had in years."

Naomi added: "It's really nice."

Customers enjoying their meals (Image: Newsquest)

Also pictured are Tayla Kilbane, Graham Collins, Ana Gjemai and Karen Gage who all shared positive thoughts with the Gazette.

Mayor Dan Putty attended the opening. He told the Gazette: "It has been wonderful, it provides so many jobs for people which is what I actually am looking forward to."

The Mayor was pleased with the opening day (Image: Newsquest)

The store boasts six kiosks and enough seating for 165 customers to enjoy their meals, plans are also in the works for it to be open 24/7 in the near future.

This is part of the McDonald's Convenience of the Future programme.

The programme combines a new layout with the latest technology to create a 'more seamless and enjoyable experience for customers'.

Some of the features customers can expect to see at McDonald's include a front counter redesign with specific areas for different sales channels, a dedicated courier waiting area and entrance, a new kitchen design with a larger assembly area, and improved break spaces for staff.