You will have to get out of your car for another year in Palm Desert if you want to chow down on a Big Mac.
The city’s ban on drive-thrus was discussed at Thursday night’s Palm Desert City Council meeting – but the council punted on making a decision for another year.
The ban was initially instituted due to a concern for littering, but has been relaxed for pharmacies and banks and for fast food joints within a mile of I-10 (so yes, when Cactus Hugs does a story on drive-thrus being banned in Palm Desert and some of you comment that there are indeed drive-thrus in Palm Desert – you are correct. But there are is also a Mickey D’s, Del Taco, and Burger Kins without drive-thrus on Highway 111. Also, how is that Burger King still open? No one is ever there and it is almost hidden from the road? Did you even remember it is there? And is Burger King ever anyone’s first choice? Second? Fifth? Oh, crap…forgot their is an Arby’s in that neighborhood too. I guess Burger King would rank ahead of Arby’s…hold on, got sidetracked. Let’s get back on subject).
There have been rumors that this was all brought up because Dick Shalhoub, the owner of McDonald’s on Highway 111, would shut down the joint if the council did not end the ban. But, as The Desert Sun reports, Shalhoub says that is not true:
“Whether or not a drive-thru is permitted, we’re still going to be here; we’re still going to rebuild,” he said (referring to renovations for the building that are planned).
Interestingly, Mayor Pro Tem Bob Spiegel, who was the person who asked that the decades-old ban brought up in the first place was not even at the meeting.
My guess is he was stuck waiting in line behind someone with a huge drive-thru order at the drive-thru at The Palm Desert Jack in the Box at Cook and I-10.
