Burris Management of Waterloo, owned by Ed and Jamie Burris, confirmed Monday it has sealed the franchise for a new McDonald’s restaurant to be located on the site of the former Mertz Ford dealership at the busy intersection of South Jefferson Street (Route 163) and West Washington Avenue (Route 158) in downtown Millstadt.

Mertz Ford has already built a state-of-the-art replacement dealership just up the road on East Washington.

While demolition of the old dealership began over the weekend, both Ed Burris and Millstadt Mayor Michael Todd have stated that a project timeline for the new McDonald’s has yet to be finalized.

Employees at the adjacent Circle K gas station expressed concern that the new McDonald’s may impact their coffee and breakfast business.

Once an official opening date for the new McDonald’s has been determined, Burris said he will be looking to hire.

When asked about community response to the future arrival of a large fast-food chain in his town, Todd said it was “about 50-50” in terms of those in favor and against.