The ignoble end of "the world's worst McDonald's"
It's not easy to make yourself notorious among the more than 40,000 McDonald's franchises in the world—but Ottawa's Rideau Street location accomplished it. From dangerous violence, to drug use, general chaos and viral incidents that became world famous (like the raccoon fight...) the recently closed restaurant earned the moniker given to it by a former police chief. But the story of this McDonald's isn't just one of crime and online fame. It's a story about public space and who gets to use it, how a city changes at night, what resources we offer to people who need them and how every city's downtown is changing right now. Today, the rise and fall of the most famous McDonald's in Canada. GUEST: Amy Dempsey, senior writer, Toronto Star
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Show Notes
It's not easy to make yourself notorious among the more than 40,000 McDonald's franchises in the world—but Ottawa's Rideau Street location accomplished it. From dangerous violence, to drug use, general chaos and viral incidents that became world famous (like the raccoon fight...) the recently closed restaurant earned the moniker given to it by a former police chief.
But the story of this McDonald's isn't just one of crime and online fame. It's a story about public space and who gets to use it, how a city changes at night, what resources we offer to people who need them and how every city's downtown is changing right now. Today, the rise and fall of the most famous McDonald's in Canada.
GUEST: Amy Dempsey, senior writer, Toronto Star
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