Residents and visitors to Jerome Avenue in Norwood were both shocked and saddened by the sudden closure of the local McDonald’s restaurant in early January, closing the book on a business with plenty of neighborhood history.
It was on Friday, Jan. 8, when longtime resident Evelyn Perez noticed the establishment’s sign was gone and the doors were locked of the once thriving business. Outside stood a handwritten sign reading, “No Food, Closed.”
Alice Kulick, the property owner and chair of the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District (JGH-BID), said at a recent JGH-BID meeting that the restaurant owner “just closed up.”
To many, the McDonald’s restaurant at 3440 Jerome Ave. represented an eatery etched in the neighborhood’s character, a slice-of-life locale most people thought would never close.
“McDonald’s on Jerome [Avenue] was a place to take a time-out, sit and rest awhile while at the same time enjoying a small meal,” said Perez. “I will greatly miss this particular McDonald’s.”
At the height of the Jan. 23 blizzard, Asaia Colbert stood dumbfounded as she pulled the door handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. “I was here just last week and it’s gone without notice, nothing?” asked Colbert, snow hitting her face. “Yes, I’m surprised, I wanted some food.”
Should Colbert crave McDonald’s in the future, the nearest ones are at Bainbridge Avenue at 204th Street, and the other at Gun Hill Road and Webster Avenue. “[They’re] pretty far… I’m not walking over there.”
Longtime Van Cortlandt Park resident Steve Bobker fondly recalled the local McDonald’s, saying, “I used to visit McDonald’s with my dad in the 1970s.” Also, Bobker would take his future wife on their first date to the local eatery. He jokes, “She’s still mad at me for that.” “We’re losing a tradition, a staple of the neighborhood. I will miss enjoying a cup of coffee and people-watching along Jerome Avenue.”
A manager of a nearby business explained, “This neighborhood has a chance to survive, but when the big chain stores leave like this, it’s not a good sign.”
The McDonald’s was owned by Peter and Lynn Samaha, proprietors who also owned a McDonald’s in Yonkers, which suffered from heavy fire damage last October.
In a statement through the McDonald’s corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, IL., the couple offered no reason for the closure, stating that “It has been an honor to serve the neighborhood and we appreciate the support and cooperation of the local business community.”
The statement added that “a number of our employees have accepted jobs at nearby McDonald’s locations, and we wish them all the best.”
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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I have a photo of me and the Hamburglar and grimace back when I was 10 in the seventies from that location
I used to work there I had all four of my daughters bday party’s there I will miss it
I share the same reminiscent memories as all my community members when I say bag I grew up enjoying a happy meal after school or breakfast on a Saturday. I also did enjoy the ability to people watch and catch a familiar face strolling by. I feel more sad for the employees who gave the company many years as most of them I know had been there for quite some time. I personally believe the (the company) just didn’t want to pay the raise increase to all their employees, sad because they had loyal employees and are on of the only companies who still hires senior citizens. However more I am very pleased to hear McDonald’s will no longer be around to poison my precious community. Because I have not eaten there in two years nor do I allow my son. As nostalgic as it maybe it’s a relief to know they will not be selling their gmo infested, toxic, pink slime food any longer.
I had one of my first lifetime jobs at this particular location, back in 1980, when I was in high school. It is a tremendous loss to the community, as it represented a place to cool off in summer or warm up in winter, coming in out of the cold. I lived in this area of the Bronx from 1964-2011, and have many fond memories of this location. Very sad. The neighborhood lost a pillar.