A big crowd turned out Saturday for the grand opening of the new McDonald’s at Magnolia Plaza in The Villages.
It was a proud moment for Mark and Rebecca Babalian, owners of the new McDonald’s restaurant, which has been warmly welcomed by Villagers south of State Road 44.
“We’ve been a part of this community for many years and love the relationships we’ve built with our customers,” said owner/operator Rebecca Babalian. “We’re proud to open the doors of this new location and are so excited to be a part of the area’s continuing growth.”
The Babalians, who have been in the restaurant business for more than two decades, also own and operate the McDonald’s restaurants at Buffalo Ridge Plaza and Colony Plaza. This marks their fifth restaurant in Central Florida.
With an obvious understanding of how to have fun in The Villages, the Babalians invited the members of Clown Alley 179 to the grand opening. The clowns offered face painting and balloon art as well as insisting on photographs with a special McDonald’s opening day frame.
Donna and Jimmy Cunningham of the Village of Hammock of Fenney could not turn down Cupcake the Clown who insisted on a photo. Cupcake put down the camera long enough to step into the frame with Rebecca Babalian.
The new McDonald’s will be open from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
