Daniel S.
Yelp
The Green Valley Parkway Golden Arches.
It is kind of funny that I lived practically across the street from this McDonald's for nearly fifteen years and I visited it only one time that was on October 13, 2019 for a McRib promotion; then after I moved out of the neighborhood I am the Duke here. Life is kind of funny.
What has brought me to the Green Valley Parkway McDonald's two times shortly after moving out of the neighborhood, is that it abuts the freshly paved extension of the Union Pacific Railroad Trail, where I have been hiking. At the adjacent mostly vacant shopping center, I would park my car in the sea of empty spaces, then stop by McDonald's for some grub and hydration before hitting the trail.
This McDonald's looks younger than its age. It has been sitting along the Union Pacific Railroad as far back as 2005 when I moved to Henderson and both Food 4 Less and Rite Aid anchored the currently mostly abandoned vacant shopping center. This McDonald's has obviously been through a renovation. When I walked inside, it was through glass doors that automatically open. Inside every thing from the tables to the lighting looked more like a sit down casual dining restaurant than a McDonald's. Speaking of looking like a McDonald's, the familiar indoor McDonald's playground is missing here. When I ordered, it was off the digital menu above the counter. After ordering, I took my number and they delivered the food to the table.
When I visited the Green Valley Parkway McDonald's twice in the last few days, I noticed something else besides the modern interior. That was inflation. The once $1 hot & spicy McChicken that I ordered on Monday was now $1.59 before taxes. The large Chicken McNugget meal that I ordered on Tuesday was $10.06 bringing a fast food meal in McDonald's to over $10. For a perspective, that is over $2 more than an an In-N-Out cheeseburger meal.
As far as cleanliness, this is a relatively clean McDonald's. Both times there were a few tables that needed to be cleaned off. But the clean bathroom left a lasting impression.
The modernization never brought a Freestyle Coke machine. They still have the old fashioned machine with a few Coke beverages that does not include Coke Zero. The Coke machine would come in handy before hitting the trail. However, it would have been nice to have picked a sparkling flavored water or Coke Zero beverage from a choice of 100 that a Freestyle machine offers.
The service here was decent. On Monday, the Manager who took my order seemed like he wanted to be somewhere else and yesterday the friendly kid who served me was joking about how tired he was. The food arrived fast both times.
Overall the Green Valley Parkway McDonald's is a solid fast food restaurant. I would not go out of my way to go there, however, if I am in the mood for it when getting on the Union Pacific Railroad Trail extension, I could see myself returning.
