Fighting McDonald's in Burlington - A Look Back

Almost 40 years ago there was an attempt by McDonald’s, the fast food giant, to put one of their stores in a small plaza in south east Burlington.


It is hard to believe but in 1975 there was only one McDonald’s in Burlington.
McDonald’s preferred location was at Kenwood and Lakeshore near what is now called Lakeside Shopping Village (it was then the Skyway Plaza) was clearly not appropriate.


Residents objected. A five year battle followed.

To the best of my knowledge there has been no comprehensive documentation of this struggle.

Jim and Judy Ryan, who were front and centre in the fight, kept a scrapbook and a few years ago I copied a 150 or so clippings from that scrapbook.

I had hoped/still hope to do something substantial on this story. I’ve made little progress.

Recently, however, I organized my notes a bit and put a very small story together. You can find it at http://foreveryoungnews.com/posts/2655-bob-s-blog-case-study-of-long-ago-community-project-