McDonald's Is Closing Its Most Controversial Location

Stepping into a McDonald's is usually a pretty mundane experience, but depending on the location, it can also be a surreal adventure. According to TimeOut magazine, one such location was the McDonald's on West Third Street and Sixth Avenue in New York City, considered perhaps the most infamous McDonald's location known to man. And for better or worse, the place is now permanently closing due to the devastation of the pandemic.

The news started making rounds on social media as a user posted a picture of the shuttered location with the caption, "End of a [sic] era smh McDonald's across the st from the cage on w4th st station." (Related: McDonald's Is Making These 8 Major Upgrades.)

The nostalgia-inducing fast-food chain location was a popular late-night destination for a colorful cast of characters, where McDonald's customers were as likely to witness a spectacle as they were to order a burger with fries. TimeOut describes it as an "enter-at-your-own-risk emporium of fried food, brazen rodents, vintage firearms, and not a single sober soul in sight."

New Yorkers have taken to Twitter to mourn the loss of the iconic Golden Arches joint, many contributing their own tales of legendary encounters that sound in equal measure comical, frightening, and delightful—like so many New York experiences.

Even if you've never had the chance to grab a bite here, the location may still look familiar: It was featured in the movie Big Daddy in the scene in which Adam Sandler famously yells "Will somebody get the kid A HAPPY MEAL?!"

R.I.P. to this Manhattan location. But McDonald's will obviously still live on in its many other locations, and it's even debuting new menu items next month. For more news about the chain, check out the biggest controversies the brand faced in 2020.

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