Fast Food . . . Slow Start -- Mcdonald's At Medical Center Won't Open Till 1991

RENTON

A change in location is expected to stall until 1991 construction of a McDonald's restaurant at Valley Medical Center, the state's first fast-food franchise operated by a hospital.

Hospital officials had predicted the restaurant would be finished by the end of the summer.

Its progress, however, has been hampered by city insistence that the 100-seat McDonald's not be built on a third-floor deck adjacent to Rainbows, the hospital's cafeteria.

Ken Nyberg, Renton community development director, said the city wanted the hospital to designate the deck area for open space.

So the 3,300-square-foot McDonald's now will be built in space currently designated for conference rooms, said John Scott, hospital administrator for professional/technical services.

Hospital officials are in the process of finishing design details before submitting a site plan for review by Renton's Planning Department.

``A lot of people coming to the hospital think McDonald's is already here. But we're taking time to make sure that once built, McDonald's will blend in with the hospital.''

Though it won't be open for business until next year, Pat Newbury, owner of the Valley McDonald's restaurant, is wasting no time searching for his management staff.

He has also spent $2,500 on art work depicting marine life, including paintings and a 4-by-3-foot dolphin sculpture he found in Hawaii, which he said he will use to create a tranquil environment.

``Almost everybody is in a stressful situation at the hospital. When they're inside McDonald's, I want them to be stepping into a different world, almost an oasis,'' he said.

Newbury, who operates four other McDonald's franchises in Renton, said he didn't anticipate such a long construction delay.

``This pace of building is slow,'' he added. ``Guess they're kind of like crawling babies. They get there when they get there.''